Not Bound By Blood II
by AliasWritings
Summary: After losing the farm, no one thought they would ever find a safe place to call home again, but they do. And with that, Charlie grows closer to the group and lets herself start to trust in the people around her. Will all last? Or will everything crumble around them, leaving whoever's left to pick up the pieces. Sequel to Not Bound By Blood. (Which is being rewritten)
1. Race You

**This is part II of the Not Bound By Blood story, if you haven't read the first part maybe do that. Or don't, my writing sucked then even more than it does now. I'm working on rewriting it though.**

**It's a short chapter but it's just starting off, hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think.**

**Words: 1,494**

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The days were getting colder but there was no snow yet, Charlie took that as a win.

She liked the snow, sure, but only when she chose to be in it and could go inside a building with heat.

The group travels around, going from house to building, never staying in the same place for too long, usually being forced out by walkers.

It wasn't all bad, they had good days and nights. The group gathered around a warm fire with the food they were able to gather up, sometimes they found a lot, sometimes they found nothing. But they were all still alive.

No one was sure how long it had been since the farm as the days seemed to blend together. Charlie was getting closer to the people in the group as well, talking to more people than Glenn, Daryl, and Carl. She grew closer to Maggie, the older women taking to the young girl like another little sister.

Hershal was kind to her and Charlie found herself liking the older man's company and felt comfortable around him.

With her and Carl's relationship, Charlie found herself speaking with both his parents on occasion as the boy sometimes held anger towards them and refused to even look their way. Lori made some mistakes before, sure, but she was still a nice person and she tried her best.

Rick was kind and he tried his best to lead everyone but it was hard and put a lot of stress on him. He often found himself thanking the young teenager for helping with Carl.

T-Dog was funny, he was always trying to keep the mood light when everyone couldn't find it in them to put a smile on their faces.

Carol had changed a bit, but not in a bad way. She was becoming more confident and Charlie often found herself at the woman's side.

Getting closer to Maggie naturally brought Charlie closer to Beth, who may have been a few years older but Charlie had a natural protection instinct when it came to kids. When she was younger and in a foster home, the older kids always did their best to watch out for her, and when she got older, Charlie found herself switching roles and she started taking care of the younger kids. It's a hard habit to break.

But Charlie was still closest with Daryl. The two do most of the hunting and Charlie was getting better at it, Daryl sometimes let her lead as he stayed back. He taught her how to use his crossbow but it was to difficult for her but they ended but finding a simple bow with arrows for her to use so she could continue to hunt while being quite.

Charlie wasn't the only one growing close, the whole group was becoming closer with one another, something that's hard not to do when you're stuck with them twenty-four seven.

Right now the group was housed in a suburban home in a small neighborhood. They arrived late the day before and cleared the easiest house. The walker traffic was low and for that they were thankful, the break is greatly needed.

"We're gonna take a group, scavenge the other houses," Rick told everyone early the next morning as everyone sat around eating breakfast.

"C'mon, headin' out," Daryl told Charlie as she threw her quiver onto her back.

"Okay," Charlie responded and took her place at his side, walking out of the house to meet the small group that had gathered, Rick, Glenn, and Maggie.

"Look's pretty clear, right? We going to that house first?" Charlie asked she looked around, pointing to the next house over.

"Yeah," Rick agreed, sharing an amused look with Daryl that the teen missed as her attention turned to Glenn, a mischievous smirk growing on her face.

"Race you," Charlie said, taking off not a second later with Glenn rushing behind her, Maggie barely getting out her 'be careful' before they were gone.

The three left behind only shook their heads, used to the two's behavior, and followed behind at a normal pace, keeping their eyes out for any threats.

"I win," Glenn said Charlie with a triumphant smile, happy to finally win one of there races.

"Okay, I call a rematch," Charlie told him, knowing she would've won if she wasn't wearing her quiver a bow on her back.

"Don't be a sore loser," Glenn told her as the others approached and Charlie just shook her head with a smile.

"He finally win?" Rick asked the two with an amused smile.

"I had a bad start," Charlie defended.

"You started first," Glenn said as he gestured towards her.

"Whatever," Charlie waved off with a smile as she went to stand by Daryl's side as they all approached the house.

Checking the door and finding it locked, Rick used his machete to quietly wedge the door open before he carefully entering the house, Daryl coming in last as they spread out to search the house.

As the others went on searching the first floor, Charlie and Daryl slowly climbed the stairs leading to the second floor.

Charlie went left and Daryl went right. Using her bow in tighter places wasn't easy so Charlie usually stuck with her knife, much to Daryl's dismay, but she didn't have a silencer for her gun and that would be too loud.

The house was clear so far, from what Charlie could tell, she hadn't heard anything from the others that would suggest they took down a walker.

Walking down the hall, Charlie slowly pushed each door open and peered in, the rooms looking almost untouched. It unnerved her slightly, it felt weird seeing something so normal nowadays.

Reaching the end of the hall, Charlie came to a closed-door and slowly turned the nod before pushing the door open.

What she saw in the room made the light, fun, atmosphere from before she entered the house disappear, her hands and knife going limp by her side as she looked over the bodies of two dead children lying on the twin bed and what she guessed to be their mother in a chair across from them, blood splatter on the wall behind her rotting corpse.

Snapping from her thoughts, Charlie shook her head and blinked rapidly as she quickly turned around and closed the bedroom door behind her, resting her back on the outside, taking a deep breath.

"You okay?" The voice made her jump and snap her eyes open to see Daryl standing close to the stairs.

"Uh, yeah," Charlie said as she pushed away from the door to join him. "Just a dead dog." She lied, passing by him to go down the stairs, knowing he wouldn't believe her if she had said nothing.

"All clear?" Rick asked the two as they met up with him in the living room.

"Yeah," Daryl nodded with a glance at the back of Charlie's head as she went to join Maggie and Glenn as they searched the kitchen.

"Hey, catch," Glenn said to her before tossing her a deck of cards he had found, knowing the teen had lost her's a few days back.

"Sweet," Charlie mumbled, putting them in her bag before she joined them in packing up any food they could find.

"All good in here?" Rick asked minutes later as he and Daryl joined the trio.

"Yeah, think we got everything," Glenn said as he picked up the duffle bag they had put everything in.

They went to a few more of the houses after that, not having the luck they did with that one as they ran into a few walkers. But all in all, it wasn't bad as they found a lot of food, winter clothes, and blankets before making there way back to the rest of the group.

Charlie had been feeling down since the first house, something that did not go unnoticed. She wasn't super chatty but she had started talking more, some days more than others, but as they walked back to their house, she was quite, walking with her head down.

Making a quiet noise to gain the teen's attention, Daryl waits until Charlie looks up at him as the two walk in the back of the group. "What's up?" He asks her, noticing her distant behavior.

"Nothing," Charlie says with a shake of her head before looking down when Daryl gave her a disbelieving look.

Sighing, Charlie shakes her head again and keeps her eyes on the ground. "It wasn't a dog."

"Figured," Daryl grunted, shifted his hold on the crossbow, knowing her enough to know she didn't want to talk about it.

"Let's just get back," Charlie stated as she looked up to watch where she was going. "Glenn found some more cards, maybe you'll finally let me beat you at poker."

"Sure," Daryl said with a sarcastic snort as they arrived back at the house.

"Whatever, old man."

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**Hope you guys liked it and let me know!**

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	2. Unfriendly Company

**Alright, it took me longer to write this chapter because I'm not good at writing stuff like this and I wanted it to be good so I really want to know what you guys think about it, all reviews are welcome.**

**I don't have the next chapter written or an idea for it yet and I don't think I'm ready to go into season 3 just yet, if you guys have anything you want to see more of, just let me know in the reviews or even a PM.**

**Thanks so much for reading and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

**Words: 3,455**

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"Hey, gonna take the kid, go huntin'." Daryl said to Rick as he motioned towards Charlie with his head, the teenager gearing up as she talked to Carl.

It had been about a month since they were at the suburban home and snow had fallen as the temperature dropped even more. Charlie guessed it was getting close to December, or already was. Her birthday was in December. She'd be sixteen.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Rick asked his friend as he also looked over to Charlie. It wasn't that he thought she couldn't, Daryl and Charlie went hunting on their own often. But he still worried, about them and the weather.

"Yeah," Daryl said with a nod, knowing they had to try as their food supply was running low.

"Alright," Rick nodded and placed a brief hand on Daryl's shoulder. "Be safe."

Nodding, Daryl turns away from Rick, walks over to Charlie and motions with his head towards the door when he catches her eye.

"Gotta go, bud." Charlie quickly tells Carl before running off to catch up with Daryl.

"I always preferred the cold but damn." Charlie said as she tightened her jacket around herself, her breath showing in the air as she spoke.

Grunting his agreement, Daryl started towards the woods with Charlie following, both their bows out and ready.

Charlie wasn't hopeful that they would find much but she knew they needed to try. Plus, she loved the peace that came with being in the forest.

They walked for a while, keeping quiet and their eyes peeled without much luck.

"Can't track shit with this snow," Daryl complained, kicking at the ground. It had snowed again the night before, laying a fresh layer over the ground, covering any possible tracks.

"Yeah, well..." Charlie trailed off as she also kicked at the snow. "I take it you still don't want to head back?"

"Nah, let's keep going," Daryl said as he started walking again, not yet ready to give up. He loved the silence the forest provided as much as Charlie did and was happy to get away from the group every once and awhile.

"Okay," Charlie mumbled before her attention snapped to her right when she heard a noise. "You hear that?"

"Yeah," Daryl said as he chewed his lower lip, looking in the direction the noise came from.

"We gonna check it out?" Charlie asked after a moment when Daryl didn't move.

"Might as well," Daryl decided after another moment. "Keep your eyes up."

"Of course," Charlie said as she nocked an arrow and moved up behind him.

"It's weird..." She mumbled to herself as they searched the woods, the hair on the back of her neck standing up.

"Hmm?" Daryl hummed in question when he heard the girl mumbling, keeping his eyes forward.

"Just a feeling," Charlie said as she looked around them with furrowed brows.

"See this?" Daryl asks Charlie as he points at something on the ground, the young girl bending down to see better.

"Footprints," Charlie observes the clean indentation in the snow. "Definitely not walkers." She states when she notices how clean the prints are.

"No," Daryl mumbled as he also looked around the forest. "Fresh too."

"So someone was here?" Charlie asks as she stands back up and lets her eyes search the forest around them.

"And recently," Daryl tells her. "Let's head back." He says with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He wanting willing to risk running into any unfriendly company.

"Yup." Charlie readily agreed, the hairs on her neck still standing on end as she turned to follow Daryl out of the woods.

They came pretty far in, Charlie was ready to get back and warm her numb toes and fingers up. But all thoughts halted when a hand grabbed her hair and pulled her back.

She wasn't sure how they hadn't noticed him but Charlie didn't care as she fought the hold the rotting corpse had on her hair.

If she was thinking straight, she would have taken out her knife and drove it through the monsters head. But she wasn't thinking straight. She could only look into the dead eyes of what was once a person as it tried to bring her towards its snapping jaws until falling limp, a knife sticking from its eye.

"Shit." Charlie mumbled as she tried to get her breath back. Her heart was beating so fast she wouldn't be surprised if Daryl could hear it.

"You good?" Daryl asked the teenager as he wiped his knife clean of the walker's blood before sheathing it again.

"Yeah," Charlie nodded as she straightened back up, taking another deep breath and looking at the now-dead walker. "The hell did he even come from?" She asked, swearing he just appeared out of nowhere.

"Sneaky bastard." Daryl said as he also looked at the dead walker. His heart was still beating fast, the image of Charlie being pulled closer to the monsters rotting teeth fresh in his mind.

"He's not the only one." A voice said from behind Daryl, causing him and Charlie to spin around, their weapons raised as two men approached.

"Be smart, lower your weapons," One of the men said as they continued to aim their bows at both men.

"I'd listen to the man if I were you." A third voice said, this one from behind Charlie as she felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed against the back of her head.

How the hell did three people sneak up on them? Charlie thought as she caught Daryl's eye and he gave her a small nod for her to drop her bow.

As much as she hated doing so, Charlie lowered her bow to the ground. She didn't have much of a choice with three guns pointed at her.

"Good choice." One of the men said as they all took a few steps closer. And Charlie could feel the guy behind her remove her gun from its waistband holster.

"This is a nice piece," The man whispered as he looked at her gun and Charlie shivered at the feeling of his breath on her ear.

"I suggest you back away." Charlie whispered to him, her skin crawling at how close she could feel him standing to her. She was proud at how steady her voice sounded. Charlie hated showing any emotions, fear included. And she was definitely afraid.

"Oh yeah, little lady? What are you gonna do about it?" The man asked amused as he shoved his gun into the side of her head.

"Stop screwing around, John." The man now holding Daryl's crossbow said as he looked to the man behind Charlie.

"I'm just having fun." The man said as he lowered his gun, giving Charlie the opportunity to throw her elbow back and hit the man right in the face. "Shit!" He shouted as he fell back holding his nose.

"What the hell did I say?" The same man as before spoke up as he looked down at his friend, now pointing his gun at Charlie.

"Stupid bitch broke my nose." John said as he stood up again. Despite the fear shooting through her, Charlie felt satisfied when she saw the man stumbling to his feet, blood dripping from his nose. The feeling was short lived as the angry faced man stomped over and shoved Charlie against the tree next to her.

Daryl reacted fast and went to push the man off her but paused when a gun was shoved into his face.

"Let her go." Daryl growled as he glared at the man holding his own crossbow to his head before turning his attention back to Charlie. Her eyes screwed shut as the man held her against the tree with his arm over her throat.

"Just calm the hell down. It's simple, you nice folks lead us to your camp, give us your shit and we'll be on our merry way." The one now holding his gun at Daryl spoke.

Digging her nails into the tree behind her, Charlie opens her eyes, noticing the gun on the ground. The guy with his arm currently over her neck must have dropped it when she hit him in the nose.

She knew they couldn't lead them back to their camp but these people weren't taking no for an answer.

Looking up, Charlie meets Daryl's eye and motions with her own to the gun on the ground before looking back up to him. As much as he didn't like it, Daryl knew the same thing Charlie did and he gave the young girl a nod.

Trying her best to take a deep breath with the pressure on her throat, Charlie shifts her feet before bringing her knee up between John's legs. Successfully knocking him off her.

Daryl took the opportunity to disarm the other men but Charlie wasn't paying attention to how as she went to grab the gun. The cold metal bit at her bare fingers as she feels something wrap around her ankle.

Falling forward, Charlie twists to her back and sees John grabbing at her and brings her free leg up to kick him in the face. She didn't realize it then, but her ankle did not agree with the action.

Spinning back around, Charlie looks through the snow until her hand hits the hard metal of the gun and she grips it in her hand. Spinning just in time to see Daryl's arms wrap around the man's neck from behind.

Shifting her attention from the men in front of her, Charlie looks over her shoulder when she hears a growling to see a walker approaching them.

"Shit," Charlie mumbled to herself as she pulls herself to her feet. They couldn't catch a break today, could they? Approaching the walker with her knife in hand, Charlie shifts her weight onto her left leg before striking the walkers knee with her right.

Ankle already weak, Charlie landed heavily on the ground next to the walker, driving her knife into its face.

Clamping her eyes shut, Charlie grits her teeth as the pain flares up her leg. Her breaths were nothing than short gasps now and she struggled to pull herself from the panic taking over. They were fine, she kept repeated to herself. Daryl was there, she was safe.

Letting the last guy fall to the ground, Daryl looks around until his eyes land on Charlie a little way ahead of him. She's kneeling in the snow, a dead walker in front of her.

Throwing his crossbow and Charlie's bow onto his back, Daryl makes his way towards the small girl and crouches in front of her.

"Come on, kid," He mumbled more to himself than to Charlie, knowing she probably couldn't hear him anyway.

Grabbing the sides of her head, Charlie clenches her teeth together as she willed herself to take a deep breath. The teenager wasn't sure how long she sat there, panting on the snowy ground before the pain in her chest lessened and breathing was easier.

"Are they...?" Charlie trailed off as her eyes found the three figures lying in the snow, her eyes avoiding Daryl's.

"Don't worry 'bout it." Daryl said as he stood without sparing the three bodies a glance. "C'mon, let's get back."

Nodding her head, Charlie goes to stand, only to fall forward as pain shoots through her ankle and up her leg, sending her back into the snow. "Oh, that hurts like a mother," Charlie said through clenched teeth.

"What's wrong?" Daryl questions the girl, having turned his attention away from her as she tried to stand.

"My ankle," Charlie told him as she shook her shaky hands, shifting on the ground so she could look down her leg. "Damn it."

"Let me see,. Daryl said as he crouched by her injured ankle, looking to her for permission to which she nodded. "Probably sprained." Daryl guessed as he looked at her tiny ankle already starting to swell.

"Great." Charlie mumbled sarcastically and hit the snow next to her. Taking a deep breath to help calm herself, she tried to stand again, wincing in pain as she moved her ankle. "Seriously?" She whispered to herself, frustrated that she couldn't even stand.

"Just gonna make it worse." Daryl commented as his eyes shifted to an approaching walker. Moving away from Charlie, putting her knife he had removed from the other walker through its head before returning.

"Then what the hell do you suggest I do?" Charlie asked, annoyed and uncomfortable, the snow below her was melting and soaking into her clothes.

"We need to get back, those guys might have friends." Daryl commented, ignoring her question with another glance at the three dead bodies. When his attention turned back to Charlie's annoyed face, his caught sight of her blue lips as she worried them between her teeth. The cold was getting to both of them but more so her than him and he was becoming even more concerned.

Huffing while still biting her lip, Charlie looks up to see Daryl offering her his hand. Turning her head away, Charlie closes her eyes and shakes her head before reaching up and grabbing his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

It was stupid, she thought, being uncomfortable with touch even if she trusted him. She knew he wouldn't hurt her but she still felt her skin crawl at the contact and pulled away as soon as she had her balance.

"Okay," Charlie mumbled to herself as she hopped to a nearby tree to lean against.

"What're gonna do? Hop back to camp?" Daryl asked with an unimpressed look at the girl, knowing she wouldn't be able to put any weight on her ankle for very long.

"That was the plan," Charlie said, only half-joking as she tried and failed to put more weight onto her ankle.

Snorting, Daryl spared one last look at their surroundings before walking to the teens side, offering her his arm to lean against.

He could just carry her, she probably weighed nothing. But he knew she wouldn't be comfortable with that. He could understand and respect that.

Suck it up, Charlie, she thought as she took hold of Daryl's offered arm, the cloth of his jacket cold under her hand as she squeezed it, leaning onto him as she limped along his side.

"Sorry." Charlie mumbled a few minutes into their long walk back, wishing the cold would numb the pain in her ankle as it had her entire face.

"What for?" Daryl asked with a glance down at her, wonder what the hell she was apologizing for.

"That shit back there." She said as she tried to motion behind them with her head, the bruise already forming on his jaw not going unnoticed by her.

"Not your fault and you know it," Daryl told her, annoyed that she always thought everything was her fault. "C'mon, gotta get back."

"Yeah," Charlie mumbled, wincing when she put to much weight on her injured leg. "Mother fu-"

"Language," Daryl said, cutting her off, causing Charlie's brows to furrow as she looked up at him.

"Language?" She questioned, wondering why he was only now saying something. It wasn't like she'd never cussed around him before. "You watch your language." She retorted weakly.

The rest the their walk was spent in silence. Charlie was starting to think they'd never make it out of those damned woods when the groups house came into view. Clinching her jaw, the teen looked down when she noticed a few members on the porch.

"Where have you guys been?" Glenn was the first to ask as he walked towards them, followed by a few others. "What happened?" He asked when he saw Charlie limping and leaning on Daryl for support.

"Unfriendly company." Daryl said as he helped Charlie get up the steps, sending Rick a look to tell him he would explain later.

"We got worried." Rick told them as he opened the door and let them pass, the others coming to check on them when they entered.

"Charlie, are you okay!?" Maggie asked the young teen as she hurried to her side, her hands hovering over the girl as she limped to a coach.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Charlie tells Maggie with a nod, trying her best to keep the pained expression off her face as she sat down onto the couch.

"We need to get you guys warmed up," Carol said as she tended to the small fire they had going in the fireplace. It was too cold to not have a fire going but they didn't want to draw too much attention to themselves.

"Yeah." Maggie agreed as she helped Charlie prop her injured ankle up. The annoyed look she sent Daryl as being babied going unnoticed by the worried women.

Only sparing the girl a slightly amused look, Daryl watches Hershal sit at the end of the coach and carefully remove Charlie's boot, the young girl's eyes screwing shut as she bit her still blue lip.

"Let's see what we have here," Hershal said as he examined Charlie's swollen ankle. "Seems to be sprained, I'll wrap it up but you'll still need to stay off it for a while." He told her, sending her one of his kind smiles as she nodded.

She didn't say anything, but she wondered how long she would be able to stay off it. She never was one to stay still and the group never stayed one place very long and she wasn't sure how long they had until they were moving again. At least it wasn't broken, she thought, broken bones sucked.

"And keep it elevated." Hershel reminded her as he finished wrapping her ankle, sending her one last smile before leaving her be.

"Thanks," Charlie mumbled to him, flexing her fingers as feeling slowly returned to them.

"You good?" Daryl asked her after Hershal had left, standing at her side.

"Yeah," Charlie nodded up at him, sending him a small smile to which he nodded back to, turning to go find Rick.

"You need to get some rest," Lori told the teen as she brought a blanket over and laid it across her.

"I'm not tired." Charlie told her, not unkindly, the older women smiling as she saw the teen fast asleep a few minutes later.

"Do you think there's more of them?" Rick asked Daryl as he told them about the three men in the forest.

"Couldn't say." Daryl said, his attention on their conversation but his eyes had strayed to the sleeping teen across from them.

Sighing, Rick nods as he thinks over the information. If there were people nearby, especially unfriendly ones, he knew they should move on soon, as much as he hated to do so. With his wife's pregnancy, her stomach seeming to get bigger and bigger every day, and now Charlie's injury, he would hate to move anytime soon.

"Didn't even hear the bastards sneak up on us." Daryl commented absentmindedly as his eyes narrowed in on the growing bruise around Charlie's neck from where that man was holding her against the tree.

"Hey, no point in beating yourself up over it, you did all you could." Rick said as he followed Daryl's eyes, knowing he felt guilty for the teenager getting hurt. Charlie was closest with Daryl after the farm but Rick found himself growing protective of the girl as well.

Daryl only grunted in acknowledgment and gave a small nod before he took his leave, satisfied in the knowledge that Charlie was safe.

He hated that he couldn't have protected her better, guilt hitting him like a punch to the gut every time she winced in pain. When he saw that man shove her against that tree, he wanted nothing more than to rip his head off along with both his friends'.

Daryl had never had a younger sibling, he had always been the little brother, but he imagined if he did, it would feel like this. The protective feeling he felt when it came to Charlie. He wondered briefly if Merle ever felt this way towards him.

But that didn't matter. Merle wasn't there, but Charlie was and he would do whatever it took to keep her safe.

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**There we have it, I tried my best but like I said, I'm not good at writing stuff like this (or writing in general), but that's okay because I had fun.**

**I really want to know what you guys think of this chapter! So please let me know. **

**It's also 2am so I'm going to sleep now. **

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	3. New Home

**Short chapter but I wanted to get something up, hopefully more to come soon but I guess I've lost motivation.**

**I would love it if you guys let me know if anyone is even reading this story and what you think if you are, reviews help so much, even the smallest of things letting me know if you're enjoying this story so far. **

**If you are reading, thanks so much and I hope you're liking it so.**

**Words: 1,546**

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"Watch the backside." T-Dog said as Rick cut into the prison fence.

Winter had passed and the heat took over once more as the group traveled around until today. Rick, Charlie, and Daryl had gone out hunting and wandered upon a prison.

After the discovery, they made their way back to the group and told them about it before they all made the journey there.

So there they all were, squeezing through the gap in the fence, Glenn closing it up behind them once everyone was in.

They didn't stay still for long, running around inside the double fence until they reached to the gate leading in.

"It's perfect," Rick said as his eyes looked over the prison field. "If we can shut that gate, prevent more walkers from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight."

"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershal asked.

"I'll do it, you guys cover me," Glenn said with hesitation, earning a quick response from Maggie.

"No, it's a suicide run,"

"I'm the fastest," He told her, Charlie sending him a look as he did.

"That's debatable." She said to him, knowing for a fact she was just as fast as him, if not more so despite her short legs. She had grown over the winter, she thought, but she was still on the shorter side.

"No," Rick immediately said as he walked away from the fence. "Glenn, you, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there, pop 'em through the fence. Daryl, Charlie, go back to the other tower. Carol, you've become a pretty good shot, take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershal, you and Carl take this tower." He told everyone before he let his eyes look over to the gate once more. "I'll run for the gate."

"C'mon." Daryl said with a nod towards the tower before starting towards it, Charlie and Carol following after him, both carrying rifles.

Sometime along the way, Charlie found she was a better shot with a rifle and she enjoyed them. She still used her bow when hunting or if she didn't have a choice and she enjoyed her bow, but she really liked rifles as well.

Reaching the tower, Daryl enters first before the others follow. Up the stairs and around the top of the tower. they get a good view of the yard before starting to shoot the walkers, covering Rick as he runs towards the gate.

"Sorry." Carol calls out as one her of bullets hits close to Rick's feet, the man pausing to look up at her as Charlie does the same.

"He did it," Carol said once Rick closed the gate and entered the guard tower next to it.

"Light it up!" Daryl yelled to everyone, the last walker falling to the ground moments later.

"Fantastic," Carol said as they joined the others. "You okay?" She asked Lori when she passed her.

"Haven't felt this good in weeks," Lori told her as she stood by the gate, letting everyone else go into the field.

"Good," Said Carol before walking around an overturned bus and into the yard. "Oh, we haven't had this much space since we left the farm." She stated with a laugh, running ahead with Carl, Daryl and Charlie walking behind them.

Night fell soon, the group found a clear area in the field and started a fire, cooking the food they had as they relaxed.

Rick took to checking the fences as Daryl stood on top of the overturned bus with his crossbow as lookout. Charlie had joined him after eating and was now lying close to the edge, having fallen asleep.

"I wasn't sure if Charlie brought you something, she just disappeared all of a sudden and if no one brings you something you won't eat at all." Carol stated after Daryl helped her climb onto the bus with a small bowl of food.

"I guess little Shane over there had got quite the appetite," Daryl said as he ate the food Carol brought him.

"Don't be mean." Carol said with a laugh, her attention turning to Charlie's sleeping form when Daryl pointed it out, his poncho draped over the teen. "Never understood how she could do that." She commented, thinking about how the young girl could seemingly fall asleep anywhere.

Daryl only huffed in agreement and he watches Carol rub her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"It's that rifle, the kickback, I'm just not used to it,"

"Hold on." Daryl said as he set the bowl down and licked his fingers clean of any food before rubbing Carol's shoulder, stopping only moments later. "Better get back."

"It's pretty romantic, want to screw around?" Carol joked, chuckling along with Daryl.

"Shut up," He said before turning to Charlie and gently nudging her shoulder to wake her up.

"I'm awake," She mumbled as she jumped up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, not even remembering how she fell asleep. The last thing she remembered was looking at the stars.

"C'mon," Daryl said as he nodded his head towards the fire, telling her they were going to join the others.

"Oh, hey Carol." Charlie greeted when she noticed the women before walking to the edge of the bus and slipping off. Waiting on the ground for them to join her before they walked to the rest of the group, Beth and Maggie's voice reaching their ears as the girls sang.

"Better turn in, I'll take watch over there," Rick said once the girls stopped singing. "Got a big day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked from his seat next to Maggie.

"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we got to push just a little bit more." Rick started as he looked around the group. "Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. It could mean the supplies are intact. They'd have an infirmary, a commissary."

"An armory?" Daryl asked as he held the strap to his crossbow.

"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away," Rick said. "Warden's office would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine, this place could be a gold mine."

"We're dangerously low on ammo," Hershal pointed out. "We'd run out before we make a dent."

"That's why we have to go in there...hand to hand. After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it. The assholes don't stand a chance." Nodding with one last look at the group, Rick stands and walks away, Lori soon following after him.

I wonder how well that's going to go, Charlie thought to herself as she watched Lori catch up with Rick. Everone knew the two of them haven't been in a good place lately. Carl had talked to her about it a little but the young boy preferred to ignore the topic.

Giving a tired sigh, Charlie plops onto the ground and watches the fire, sleep once again overtaking the girl before she could stop it.

"Hey! Over here!" Everyone was yelling and hitting the fence to draw the walkers towards them as T-Dog, Maggie, Rick, Daryl, and Glenn went into the court yard to clear it out.

It wasn't long until they had those walkers cleared and pushed in and out of everyone's view for a few minutes until they returned. Gathered around and talking to each other before they entered the prison, leaving everyone outside to wait until the others returned to lead the inside.

"What do you think?" Charlie heard Rick ask as they all entered.

"Home sweet home," Glenn said as he carried his and Maggie's stuff into a cell.

"For the time being,"

"It's secure?" Lori asked as she looked around.

"This cell block is," Rick answered her.

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershal asked as Charlie flicked Carl's hat when she walked by him, the young boy sending her a half-hearted glare as he fixed it.

"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary,"

"We sleep in the cells?" Beth asked, not sounding the happiest about the fact.

"I found keys on some guards," Rick answered. "Daryl has a set, too."

"I ain't sleeping in no cage," The man himself said. "I'll take the perch."

As much as she hated it, Charlie climbed the stairs and threw her stuff into the nearest cell and sat down on the bed.

She could hear the other settling down all around her, Daryl had dragged one of the thin mattresses out of a cell and was lying on it a little ways from the stairs.

It was rough, the prison, but they had stayed in worse, and with a little work it could really be a good place to stay. A good place for Lori to have her baby, Charlie thought, with the fences and thick walls it would almost be perfect.

Snapping from her thoughts, Charlie climbs to the top bunk, liking the height and how it made her feel safe before she lied back and let her eyes fall shut.

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**Sorry for the short chapter but I hope you guys still liked it, maybe leave a review to let me know, it'll help me post faster.**

**I decided to go into season three now, if I ever have any ideas for little chapters between 2 and 3 I might write those and post them by themselves.**

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	4. What Will Last?

**Words: 3,033**

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Walking on the lower levels the next day, Charlie pauses when she hears low voices from inside one of the cells and peeks in, seeing Lori and Carol talking.

"Everything okay?" The teen asks them, Lori's worried look not going unnoticed by her.

"Just fine," Lori tells her with a nod and a forced smile, not wanting the girl to worry.

"Charlie, would you mind getting Hershal for me?" Carol asks her and Charlie nods before going to find the older man, worrying despite Lori's efforts to prevent it.

"Hershal, can you come here for a minute?" Charlie asks as she pokes her head into the room with the others as they gear up to head deeper into the prison.

"Everything okay?" Rick asks and Charlie meets his eyes as Hershel walks over.

"Yeah," Charlie tells him with a nod, meeting Daryl's eyes before turning to leave.

"I'll be around if you need anything, okay?" Charlie tells the two of them as Carol walks out of the cell, making room for Hershal.

"Thank you," Lori says before Charlie walks away.

"You won't need that," Rick told Carl, taking the helmet from his son's hands as he explained why he needed to stay behind.

"I'm taking your bike if you don't come back," Charlie joked as she leaned against the wall next to Daryl.

"Sure," He said with a snort. "Like you know anything about bikes."

"I could learn." Charlie says with a smile as Daryl rolls his eyes, giving Charlie's shoulder the lightest of taps as he walked by her. It was something he'd been doing lately, tapping her shoulder when he went passed and Charlie didn't mind. It was his way of saying "be safe" or "see you later" without actually having to say it.

"C'mon Carl." Charlie said to the boy as she dragged him along with her.

"Where are we going?" He asked, confused as to why she was leading him away.

"Let's talk," Charlie stated as she sat on this stairs next to him.

"About what?" He asked with a warry glance at her.

"Oh, just stuff," Charlie said as she removed her eyes from Beth and onto Carl. "Someone's got a crush." She said in a sing-song voice, a smile overtaking her face.

"Do not," Carl denide as he looked down, the heat rising in his cheeks.

"Ah, I'm just teasing, it's what big sisters do," She told him and bumped his shoulder.

"Sister?" Carl asked as he looked up at her, the commit about his crush on Beth gone from his mind.

"Yeah," Charlie said as she looked over to meet his eyes. "If that's okay."

"Yeah," Carl said with a nod and smile, liking the idea. "You make a good big sister."

"Great, that means I'm in charge." Charlie joked, laughing a long with Carl, the oldest teens eyes meeting Lori's across the room. "Hey, bud?"

"Yeah?" Carl asked, sobering up when he heard Charlie's voice turn more seriously.

"Do me a favore?"

"Sure," Carl agreed, furrowing his brows.

"Talk to your mom," Charlie told him, nodding her head towards Lori's cell. "Don't give me that look." She said when Carl's face turned annoyed.

"Fine," Carl mumbled as he looked at his feet, playing with the keys his father had handed to him before he left.

"Good," Charlie said as she flicked his hat over his eyes.

"Would you stop?" Carl asked as he fixed his hat once more, unable to keep the smile off his face.

"No." Charlie stated, bumping his shoulder once more before she stood and climbed the rest of the stairs and turned into her cell, deciding to clean it up a bit.

She was coming along with her cell, cleaning it out and making it less trashed looked until shouting caught her attention.

"Open the door! It's Hershal!" Literally dropping what she was doing, Charlie bolts from her cell and down the stairs in time to see Rick and the others wheeling Hershel into a cell. "He got bit," She heard Rick say as she tried to see around everyone and into the cell.

"Did you cut it off?" Lori asked and spoke again before he could answer. "Maybe you got it in time."

"Oh, I need bandages," Carol said as she inspected Hershal's leg.

"We used everything we had," Glenn told her.

"Well, get more. Anything," Carol told him.

"Carl, go get the towels from the bag right next to my bed." Lori told her son, the boy running off before she even finished to collect the towels.

"Is he gonna die?" Beth asked, her voice breaking as she did.

"No, no, no, no, he's gonna be okay," Lori told the young girl as she brought her into a hug

"You think you can stabilize him?"

"I need to keep his leg elevated, get some pillows!" Carol shouted and Charlie nodded before rushing off and grabbing the closest ones she could find. Passing them to Carol and stepping back from the cell to give them space, noticing for the first time that Daryl wasn't there.

Furrowing her brows, Charlie walked over the way they had come from and into the other room. "Daryl?" She questioned when she saw him loading an arrow into his bow.

"Get out of here, go back with the others." He told her, only letting his eyes stay on her for a moment before they turned back to the tunnels. "Now." He said a little louder when she didn't move, finally getting her to leave the room. He didn't mean to shout, but he couldn't have her anywhere near the prisoners they had run into.

"What was that?" Beth asked when Charlie rejoined the group, the sound of voices shouting from behind her.

"Prisoners, survivors." Rick said before telling everyone to stay put and going to join Daryl.

"It has to stop eventually, right?" Carol asked a while later as she replaced a bloody sheet with a fresh one, holding it against Hershal's leg.

"It slowed down quite a bit already," Lori said from beside the other women.

"If we can get him through this-" Carol was saying before Lori cut her off.

"When we get him through this,"

"We'll need crutches," Carol finished.

"Right now we could use some antibiotics and painkillers, some sterile gauzze,"

"There's got to be an infirmary here," Carol said as Charlie slid down the wall outside the cell.

She sat there for what felt like forever, head down as she wrung her hands together, waiting for Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog to get back from wherever they were with the prisoners.

"Foods here." T-Dog's voice said, drawing Charlie's eyes up to look over and see Carl opening the door for him and Rick, both men carrying arms full of food. But no Daryl, Charlie noted.

"What you got?" The young boy asked, following after them after closing the door.

"Canned beef, canned corn, canned cans. There's a lot more where this came from.

"Any change?" Rick asked as he stopped by the cell, Charlie getting to her feet as he did.

"Bleeding is under control and no fever, but his breath his labored and his pulse is way down and he hasn't opened his eyes yet." Lori informed her husband.

"Take my cuffs, put them on 'em," Rick told Glenn and turned so the younger man could grab them. "I'm not taking any chances."

"Rick," Charlie said as she followed him. "Where's Daryl?"

"He's fine," Rick assured the girl. "He's watching the prisoners."

Charlie only nodded, not feeling much better knowing he was with them but at the same time knowing he could handle himself and left Rick as Lori came to walk to him.

"What do we got?" Charlie asked as she approached T-Dog and Carl, the former soon leaving the two teenagers to go with Rick.

"Beans," Carl said as he failed to hind the grimace on his face.

"What do you have against beans?" Charlie asked the young boy with a smile.

"Just not my favorite," Carl said as he set the can down.

"Yeah, be either," Charlie agreed as she looked over the food. "Okay, I'm gonna go check on Hershal." She told the boy sometime later, leaving him to sort the food.

"How is he?" Charlie whispered to Glenn as she approached, looking into the cell at Hershal's pale face.

"The same," Glenn told her with a shake of his head.

She wanted to stay, be able to know if anything happened when it happened but Charlie knew Carl shouldn't be alone. "Okay, I should get back to Carl." She said with one last look at Hershel before turning away and walking to where she was sorting food with the boy, only to find no Carl.

"Where-" She started to mumbled before a thought struck her and she rolled her eyes. Making sure she had her gun and knife before going the only way Carl could've without everyone seeing.

"Carl," She whisper-shouts when she found the boy, seeing him sneaking a few feet in front of her. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm going to find the infirmary," Carl said as he continued forwards and Charlie caught up to him. "I didn't say anything cause I knew you would've stopped me."

"You're damn straight I would have," Charlie stated as she turned Carl to look at her. "Do you know how dangerous it is to go off alone like this? Tell me next time so I can at least go with you."

"Are you gonna make me go back?" Carl asks with a disapointed sigh.

Shaking her head, Charlie stands to her full height and looks around. "Might as well keep going." She reluctantly said, knowing they needed stuff from the infirmary. "But you never do something like this again, you here me?"

"Yeah," Carl said with a nod before the two turned to look for the infirmary.

Sighing, Charlie stays at Carl's side, choosing to have her knife out instead of her gun. He was young but Carl was a good shot and his gun was equiped with a silencer.

They found the infirmary quicker than Charlie though they would, each teen taking out one walker before they gathered what they could find into a bag and headed back out to the others. Charlie stayed back and let Carl go ahead of her with the bag.

"I though you guys were orginazing the food?" Glenn asked when he saw them approaching.

"Even better," Carl said as he dropped the bag at Carol's feet, the older women gasping when she saw what was in it.

"Where did you get this?" Lori asked her son.

"From the infirmary, wasn't much left but we cleared it out," Carl said, a proud smile on his face.

"We?" Lori asked before her eyes landed on Charlie standing outside the cell. "Are you crazy? This was with the whole group," Lori said as she gestured towards Hershal. "How could you let him go off like that?"

Charlie tried not to take Lori's accusing words to heart. She knew the women was only worried for her son, as she opened her mouth, not even sure what she was going to say.

"It's not her fault," Carl beat her to it, defending her. "I left when Charlie was gone, she only came looking for me."

"I appreciate that, but,-" Lori was saying before Carl cut her off.

"Then get off my back!"

"Carl!" Beth shouted. "She's your mother you can't talk to her like that."

"Listen, I think it's great that you wanna help-" Lori started but stopped as Carl darted out of the cell.

"Carl," Charlie called after him with a sigh, following the young boy. "Carl, come one."

"How could she say that?" He asked her once he thought he was far enough away. "We got the supplies they needed, I don't see the big deal."

"She was just worried, Carl," Charlie told him calmly as the young boy paced in front of her.

"How can you defend her after what she said?" Carl asked, stoping his movements to look at her.

"Because I understand. You have to look at it from her point of view, okay? You're her son, her child, and she was worried you could've been hurt." She explained to the boy, his head dropping as he thought over her words. He got that, he did, but he just wished everyone would stop treaing him like a kid.

"Now c'mon," Charlie said after a moment, tapping Carl on the shoulder. "Let's go glare at some canned beans, it'll make you feel better."

It was a while later that Carl was ready to rejoin the others, so Charlie followed behind him, sitting outside the cell.

Lori was off somewhere but close and Carol and Glenn were nowhere to be seen.

"Do something." Beth's voice caught Charlie's attention, the girl jumping to her feet to look inside the cell as Beth started shouting for help.

"Lori!" Charlie called, the women appearing not a second later to rush into the cell. Checking Hershel over and starting CPR when she noticed he wasn't breathing.

It happened fast, everyone reacting as it did, reaching to pull Lori away as Hershel as he grabbed her. Pulling the women away, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the man lied back down, alive and breathing.

Looking away from Hershal and to her right, Charlie slowly reaches out a lowers the gun Carl had pointed towards Hershel. His attention turning towards her as she kept her hold and she sent him a small nod.

Glenn came back shortly after and was filled in on what happened as Charlie took her place on the floor right out of the cell.

"Hershal stopped breathing," Carl told his father as he, T-Dog, and Daryl appraoched the group. "Mom saved him."

"It's true," Glenn confirmed as Charlie stood and went to stand next to Daryl.

"Still no fever." Lori said as everyone gathered around, Charlie leaning against the doorway in front of Daryl as Carl stood to her left.

No one said anything, just stood together as their worried eyes watch Maggie sit next to her father.

"Daddy?" Maggie's voice cut through the silences, causing everyone's attention turns to Hershal so see the older man opening his eyes.

"Daddy?" Beth said this time, a smile breaking out over her face as she joined her sister's side as Rick unlocked the handcuffs from Hershel.

Smiling a small smile herself, Charlie sighs in relief and looks down before flicking Carl's hat and squeezing past him and Daryl. She wanted to give the Greene family some room, she could check in on Hershel a little later.

"You good?" Daryl's asked, his voice drifting into Charlie's cell from where he stood in the doorway.

"Yeah," Charlie nodded, looking over at him as she sat on the bottom bunk. "What happened with the prisoners?"

"Three of 'em are dead, other two got their own cell block." Daryl informed her and the young girl nodded as she chewed her lower lip.

"He'll be okay, right?" Charlie suddenly asked as she turned her head to look at Daryl, her voice lower than normal.

"Old man's tough, he'll be fine." Daryl said with a nod as he watched Charlie run a shaky hand over her face before releasing a breath.

"I need some air." Charlie mumbled before pushing herself to her feet and walking out of her cell, passing Daryl on her way. She suddenly felt claustrophobic behind the prison walls.

She didn't know where she was going, she only knew she needed to be outside, away from the blank gray walls surrounding her.

She passed people on her way towards the door, ignoring all of them as she kept her eyes straight ahead of her. Letting out another deep breath as she opened the door and the sun hit her face.

Something she hated was being cooped up, feeling like she couldn't move or breath, she hated feeling suffocated. But she imagined not many people did.

Looking around her for one of the first times, Charlie's eyes land on the nearest guard tower and she lets her feet carry her towards it. Reaching out her hand, Charlie grabbed the handle and let herself. The darkness consumed her as she entered, the only light shining down from the stairs.

She'd only been in a guard tower the first day they arrived with Daryl and Carol as they shot down the walkers in the yard. She liked it, the height it provided and the view that came with it. It was nice and peaceful.

Walking the tower's perimeter once, Charlie finds the spot she can best lookout over the prison yard and lets her back hit the wall before sliding down, her knees drawn to her chest.

She sat in silence for a while, letting her fingers mindlessly trace the tally marks on her inner left forearm over her button up shirt. She heard the door opening and the footsteps that followed, but the teen didn't turn her head as someone sat next to her.

"Do you think it'll last?" She asked, her eyes following a lone walker as it approached the fence. That was the question, wasn't it? Would it last this time? Would the prison be a permanent home for the group or will it end up like the farm and all the other places they had stayed?

"The prison?" Daryl asked the girl as he looked down at her, the distant look in her eyes not going unnoticed by him.

"Yeah, I mean, we thought the farm was going to and look how that turned out." Charlie said with a weak shrug.

"What do you think?" Asked Daryl as he moved his own eyes to look out over the prison yard, not having a good answer for the girl. He didn't know if the prison would last. He wanted it too, of course he did, but just because you want something doesn't mean you're going to get it.

"I think I'm used to things not lasting," She answered as she turned her head to look up to his face. "And I don't want to be anymore."

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**Thanks for reading!  
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	5. When The Dead Haunt You

**Well, it's been a while. So sorry for that. But heeeey, I'm here now. **

**I have the next chapter written as well. This chapter isn't the most original, but I'm getting to that in future ones. **

**Also, I really appritiate you guys. Thank you so much for reading and the reviews you leave. **

**Sorry for the parts that seem rushed. I just don't know how to write them and I'd rather not over do it with unimportant stuff. **

**Words: 3,211?**

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_"It's late."_

_"Huh, I hadn't noticed." Ignoring the annoyed look Daryl shot her way, Charlie looked ahead. "Can't sleep." She mumbled after a moment passed._

_"Feel okay?" Daryl asked, his voice hiding any worry he felt. Carl had mentioned not feeling well earlier that day. The weather was only growing colder, it was only a matter of time before someone got sick._

_"Yeah, I'm fine." Charlie nodded. She was cold, hungry, and sore but didn't feel sick. For that she was thankful. "Why are you up? Thought T-Dog had watch?"_

_"He did." Daryl told her, resting his elbows on his knees._

_"Do you even sleep? Like, is that a thing you actually do?" Charlie asked, finally turning her head to look up at him._

_Rolling his eyes, Daryl lets them drift down to Charlie's ankle, the bandage he knew was there covered be her pants and shoes. "How's that?" He asked, gesturing the injured area._

_"Oh, it's fine," Charlie started, rolling her leg back and forth. "Barely hurts anymore." It hadn't been at least, until the group was forced from their last base and she spent the best part of a day walking on it._

_"You should sleep." He told her right as Charlie wondered if he'd speak more than two words at a time. That was three. Not much more but it was something._

_"Probably." The teenager mumbled. She'd love to sleep. She was exhausted but after lying down for what felt like hours, she couldn't. Her mind wouldn't let her, it wouldn't shut off. Her eyes were tired and heavy but her body refused to let her rest. "But alas, insomnia is a bitch."_

_Daryl grunted in what Charlie assumed was agreement but wasn't sure. He was hard to read sometimes. But with how much he didn't sleep, she thought he might relate._

_Fighting the shiver that struggled to break loose, Charlie brought her right leg up to join the left against her chest. Her nose was cold and although she couldn't see it, she'd bet it resembled Rudolph's._

_A sudden weight over her shoulders caught Charlie's attention to the blanket Daryl was draping over her. Surprised, the teen mumbled a 'thank you' as she pulled the clothes tighter around herself. She wondered where he got it, she could've sworn he didn't have it a moment ago._

_"Do you ever-" Charlie cut herself off, her voice filling the silence that had settled between them. She felt stupid for what she wanted to ask, she knew the answer, so what was the point?_

_Daryl must have thought differently as he hummed in question when she didn't try to speak again. "Are you ever scared to close your eyes?" The question hung in the air and Charlie fought the urge to fidget. She felt ridiculous for asking. In all the times she's seen Daryl, he's never looked scared._

_"Yeah," His short, quiet reply caught Charlie by surprise and her head snapped over to look at him. "Sometimes." He nodded, his own heard turning towards her._

_It made her feel better, knowing that. She could see the honesty in his eyes, knew he was being truthful. It made her feel selfish, feeling better knowing that he sometimes got scared._

_"I'm scared of what I know I'll see." She admitted in a voice quieter than his, almost afraid for him to hear._

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That's where the young teenager found herself one night in the prison. Lying in her bunk, staring at the ceiling above her, afraid to close her eyes.

She kept telling herself it was stupid. Being afraid of her dreams when there were real monsters lurking right outside the walls.

It was a different kind of monster than haunted her dreams. Ones of her past that despite how hard she tried, she'd never stop being afraid of.

That part of her life was behind her, over. Those were the thoughts she tried to hold onto. Tried to let them take over the ones that told her she'd never escape were she came from.

It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter where she came from or the people in her past, she was her own person. She controlled who she was, no one else.

It's funny, Charlie thought. Sometimes she felt as if her own mind was against her. Why else would it cloud her vision with the worst parts of her life, refusing to let herself see anything else?

A sliver a light shining through her door snapped Charlie form her thoughts. She though someone else might be awake, walking passed her cell, no, room, with a light. But with a little further inspection, she realized it was the sun. It was morning. She hadn't realized how long she lied there, stuck in her head.

Pulling herself up, Charlie rubbed her eyes before jumping to the floor. She hadn't taken her shoes off the night before nor had she changed. That would be a hard habit to break.

Walking down the stairs, the teen noticed everyone else was starting to rise, some already up.

Lori was with Hershel, Beth and Carl close as Charlie walked by, her feet carrying her into the common area. Rick, Carol, Daryl, and T-Dog were there. She vaguely remembers talk the day before about clearing the court yard or something.

"Morning, sweetie." Carol greeted, her voice drawing Charlies eyes towards the older women.

"Morning." Charlie smiled, only if to be polite.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah." The teen nodded, the lie slipping through her lips with no hesitation.

Carol nodded with one last smile before she followed the others outside, the door staying open for Daryl.

"You guys clearing the field?"

"Yeah." Daryl nodded, messing with something on his crossbow.

"Okay," Charlie trailed off, unsure of what else to say. "Guess I'll go check on the others." She mumbled.

Daryl only hummed as he threw the weapons strap over his shoulder. Tapping her shoulder as he passed, Daryl continued to the door before pausing, turning back to the teenager who's back was to him.

"You good?" He asked, her body turning as she looked over to him, her surprised face quickly falling.

"Yeah." This time she hesitated. It was suddenly harder to lie. He regarded her for another moment and Charlie thought he might call her out but he soon nodded and left her alone.

Charlie wasn't sure how much time passed after she joined the others. She'd greeted Hershel with a genuine smile. With a quick hello to Lori and Beth, she joined Carl in his seat on the stairs. He looked bored out of his mind.

"What's up, little man?" She had asked, tapping the front of his hat.

"I'm not little." He'd mumbled as he fixed his had.

"You kind of are, dude. You're shorter than me." Charlie joked. "Doubt it'll last long though."

"You think?" He asked, looking over at her, seeming excited about the prospect of being taller.

"Yeah, you'll be taller than me before you know it."

They had talked a while longer, about this and that until Lori appeared with crutches. They had both jumped up, staying close as the woman and Beth help Hershel up.

"Daddy, don't push yourself." Beth warned her father as he used the top bunk to pull himself up.

"What else am I going to do?" The older man asked with a small chuckle. "Can't stand looking up at the bottom of that bunk anymore-" He started, swaying to the side as he tried to gain his balance.

"You know, I think I'm pretty steady." He said, shifting the crutches under his arms.

"That's a good start." Lori smiled, her hands hovering over Hershel's shoulder. "Want to take a rest?"

"Rest? Let's go for a stroll."

Smiling at him, Charlie moved from his path but stayed close. She didn't think she'd be much help if he fell but couldn't bring herself to lag to far behind.

Stairs were a challenge. Lori stood in front and Beth behind Hershel.

"You cleared all those bodies out? This is starting to look like a place we could actually live in." Hershel said as his eyes roamed around him.

"Hey, you watch your step." Lori warned. "Last thing we need is you falling." Charlie couldn't agree more.

"Alright, Hershel!" A faint yell reached the groups ears, Charlie turning to look out in the distance. It was hard, but she could make out Rick, Daryl, and Glenn by the fences.

"Ready to race, Hershel?" Carl asked from his place beside Beth. Charlie huffed a laugh, choosing to stay by Lori's side.

"Give me another day," Hershel said. "I'll take you on." Carl chuckled then and Charlie smiled, amazed at how optimistic the older man was being about everything.

It was quiet then. Everyone taking in the moment. Everything was good. They had a new home. Somewhere safe. They hadn't lost Hershel and despite his injury, he was already up and walking. Everything was good. Charlie should've known it couldn't last.

"Walkers!" Carl's scream snapped Charlie from her thoughts, the teen spinning on her heels to see a group of walkers behind them.

She didn't even have time to wonder where they came from or how they had gotten so close without being noticed. Pulling out her gun, Charlie aimed for the closest walker and fired. Some of her bullets hit their targets, some didn't. But there was no time to dwell as a hand on her arm pulled her away.

Lori, she realized. Lori pushed Charlie in front of her where she saw Maggie and Carl running into the prison.

Ears ringing in the suddenly quiet room, Charlie traveled between Carl and Lori, prepared to protect both the boy and his pregnant mother.

"This way!" Maggie said as walkers started flooding in from the cells, directing everyone into the tunnels.

"Stay close." Charlie whispered to Carl, taking the front with him to watch out for anymore threats

Alarms started blaring as the group of four made there way through the dark maze. Charlie tried not to worry about them, there was nothing she could do but she knew it would only attract more walkers.

"Can you keep up?" Maggie asked Lori as she braced herself on a wall, releasing a pained grunt.

"Somethings not right"

"Are you bit?" Carl asked his mother worriedly.

"No, no, no," Lori shook her head, trying to take a deep breath. Charlie knew what the woman's next words were going to be so she shouldn't have been surprised. "I think the baby's coming."

"Mom?" Just then walkers flooded around the corner, forcing them deeper into the tunnels. With Maggie supporting Lori, Charlie took the front with Carl, her gun held tightly in her hands.

"In here!" Carl shouted, rushing to a door and opening it for his mother and Maggie. Charlie waited until they were in before pushing Carl in next and trying to close the door behind her. It didn't want to close completely but she wasn't to worried.

It looked like some kind of boiler room, Charlie wasn't sure nor did she care. Because Lori was going into labor and the teen was trying her best not to freak out. She had to be strong right now, for Carl.

"What are those alarms?" Lori asked and Charlie suspected she was trying to distract herself from the pain she was in.

"Don't worry about it." Maggie told her, staying by her side.

"What if it atracts them?"

"Nothing we can do about it." Charlie told Carl. "Let's just focus on your mom."

"Lori, lets lay you down."

"No, the baby's coming now."

"We have to get back to our cell block and have Hershel help." Carl sounded so scared and Charlie knew he was, she only wished there was a way to make it better. She knew there wasn't and settled for placing a hand on his shoulder.

"We can't risk getting caught out there. You're going to need to give birth to this baby here." Out of all the ways Charlie might have thought this day was going to go, she'd admit this was not one of them.

"What is she doing? Can she breath?" Carl asked when his mother started panting.

"She's okay." Charlie mumbled to him. She guessed Lori was having contractions, something she'd seen once before. They were painful, so painful you couldn't even talk through them.

"Come here, lets get your pants off." Maggie continued, helping Lori lie on the ground. "Charlie, I'm gonna need your help delivering this baby, okay?"

Nodding, Charlie squeezed Carl's shoulder before moving around him. "I'll do an exam, let me see if you're dilated."

"Do you know how?" Carl asked, standing behind Lori's head.

"Dad taught be but trust me, this is my first time." Maggie told him, speaking against after only a few moments. "I can't tell."

"I gotta push." Lori said after taking a deep breath. "I gotta push."

"Okay." Maggie nodded, helping her stand.

Unsure of what to do, Charlie took measured breaths as Lori pushed, the expression on her face one of pure pain.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." Lori breathed, breathing through her nose.

"You're doing great, Lori. Just keep going, your body knows what to do. Let it all do the work." Charlie wished she could be like Maggie in these kinds of situations. Calm, knowing the right words to say when they needed to be said.

"Lori, stop. Don't push, something's wrong." Maggie said, her voice holding fear right as Lori let out a pained scream.

Charlie thought she was panicking before but as Maggie pulled her hand back, blood dripping down her fingers. Well, it felt like someone dumped a buntch of rocks in her stomach.

Doing her best to push it down, Charlie moved forward to help Maggie lower Lori to the ground once more.

"Mom? Mom, look at me, look at me. Keep your eyes open." Charlie tried to block out Carl's urgent words to his mother.

"We have to get you back to dad." Maggie said to Lori, her own words sounding desperate.

"I'm not going to make it." Lori mumbled, her face pale and sweaty.

"Lori, with all this blood I don't even think you're fully dilated yet, no amount of pushing is going to help."

"I know what it means, and I'm not losing my baby. You've got to cut me open." Biting down on her lip, Charlie squeezes her eyes shut as they fill with tears.

"No, I can't." Maggie shook her head, struggling to keep her emotions under control.

"You don't have a choice"

"I'll go for help-" Carl started, standing from his place next to his mother.

"No!" All three women yelled at once, stopping the boy in his tracks.

"Carol's the one that practiced that. Dad only taught me the steps, Lori. If I-"

"Please."

"I have no anesthetic, no equipment-"

"Carl has a knife." Lori said, her words way to calm for someone who knew she was about to die a painful death. Charlie continued to stay silent. She didn't know what to say. There were no words.

"You won't survive."

"My baby has to survive. Please. My baby for all of us. Please, Maggie! Please!" Lori begged and tears finally spilled from Charlie's eyes, rolling down her cheeks. "Please. You see my old C-section scar?"

"I can't." Maggie said once more, shaking her head as her lip wobbled.

"You can. You have to. Carl? Baby, I don't want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want. This is right. Now you- you take care of your daddy for me, all right? And your little brother or sister, you take care-"

"You don't have to do this." Carl's shaky plea came as more tears poured down Charlie's cheeks, the teenager turning her head away, pressing her mouth into her shoulder.

"You're gonna be fine. You are gonna beat this world. I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave, and I love you."

"I love you too." Lori continued to talk to her son, her voice cracking with emotion but Charlie blocked her out, unable to listen any longer. Those words weren't for her.

"All right all right. It's all right. It's all right." With two calming breaths Lori stared up at the ceiling, her hand holding tight to her sons as she spoke her last words. "Good night, love."

"I'm sorry." Maggie mumbled, tears falling from her eyes as she brought the knife to Lori's stomach.

It almost didn't feel real. Charlie felt it wasn't even five minutes ago that she was climbing from her bed, the morning sun shining through the prisons windows. Now, lying before her was a women she'd come to know, come to care for, screaming as she was cut open.

"You're killing her!" Carl cried, looking back to Maggie.

"Don't look." Charlie spoke, her voice cracking as she gently turned Carl's head away.

"Charlie, give me your hands." With little hesitation, Charlie turned her attention back to Maggie. "Keep the site clean, okay? If I cut to deep I'm going to cut the baby."

With shaky hands, Charlie tried to clear away the blood. "Okay, come on I see it. I see the ears. I'm gonna pull it out. I can't tell if this is the arm or the leg. I'm gonna pull the baby out." Maggie spoke softly, her eyes focused, hands retracting from Lori, along with her baby.

The baby wasn't crying. Charlie noticed through the fog clouding her brain. The baby isn't crying. Her hands were covered in blood. Lori's dead. The baby isn't crying.

Then she was. The baby was crying. Sighing in relief, Charlie removed the plaid button up she was wearing over her T-shirt, passing it to Maggie.

"Okay, we have to go." Maggie spoke, cradling the child in her arms as she stood.

"We can't just leave her here. She'll turn." Carl said, halting the women in her tracks as she glanced down at the body of her friend.

"No." Carl shook his head when Charlie reached for her knife.

"Carl-" The girl mumbled.

"She's my mom." Charlie only thought that was reason not to do it. She was going to argue, but looking up to Maggie, the look on her face drained any fight the girl had left and she nodded.

She might be letting him do this, but she sure as hell wasn't going to leave him. With Maggie heading up the steps to check if the way was clear, Charlie stayed with Carl as the young boy approached his mother.

She wanted to reach out to him. She wanted to take the gun from his hand and do it herself but knew she couldn't.

He stood there for a moment, staring down at his mother as he tried not to cry. Charlie thought he might have changed his mind right before the boy kneeled, placing a kiss to Lori's head.

Charlie would beat herself up later for being weak but in the moment she couldn't stop her eyes from closing. Unable to watch as the child placed the barrel of his gun next to his mothers head, and pulled the trigger.

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**Thanks for reading! I hate to say it but I'm a sucker for reviews. The next chapter should be up soon, I've already got it written. Hope you guys enjoyed! (Sorry for any and all mistakes)**

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	6. Panic

**Decided to post again soon because I have most of the next chapter written. I think.**

**Anyway. Thanks so much for the reviews last chapter, they meant a lot and are the reason I was able to write so quickly. They motivate me, knowing you guys are enjoying this story. I'd love to know what you guys think about how it's going.**

**Side note, I c****an't remember if I ever mentioned Charlie's eyes color. I went back but couldn't find where or if I said it. I do in this chapter so if I did in the past and they've changed, just pretend they've always been the same.**

**Words: 2,470?**

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Fog filled Charlie's mind as the small group made their way back through to tunnels. After Carl stood from the cold floor, he had rushed to get away and Charlie followed, passing by Maggie.

It felt like a band was around her heart, squeezing tighter and tighter ever step she took. Her lungs were tight, like someone was sitting on her chest. But through it all, the teen kept a heavy hand on the boys shoulder.

Time passed in the blink of an eye and before she knew it, Charlie was squinting as sun shinned into her eyes. The baby had started crying some time ago, she wasn't sure when, the noise only now reaching her ears.

Maggie was crying as well. Not as loud as the infant. Carl wasn't crying. Charlie didn't know if she was. The only thing she could feel was the rough fabric of Carl's shirt under her hand. The pain in her chest and her heavy legs. When did her legs get so heavy?

Charlie thought she heard Rick speaking, then Maggie but everything sounded muffled.

Then Rick was crying.

Carl still wasn't crying.

Charlie still didn't know if she was crying.

Her hand falling brought Charlie out of the fog enough to notice Carl slowly walking away from her. She thought about following him but couldn't lift her legs. Her feet felt glued to the ground.

Someone was talking to her. Someone was talking to her?

Light pressure on the teens shoulders made her flinch back. But it snapped her back to the present to see blue eyes staring at her.

Daryl. Daryl was talking to her.

"You with me, kid?"

Nodding her head, Charlie forced another deep breath through her lungs. "I'm okay, I'm okay." She mumbled, unsure if she was talking to Daryl or herself. Maybe it was both.

"I gotta go." Daryl started talking again, his voice startling the teen. "Get food for the kid."

Kid. The baby. Lori's dead. The baby needs to eat. "Right." Charlie whispered.

"You good?"

"I'm okay." Charlie repeated. "Go." She might not have been completely their yet, but she understood what he was saying to her. "Go." She said once more, watching Daryl nod before he rushed off.

Charlie thought she was finally coming back to reality but when she blinked, she was suddenly inside. The others were filling in as the baby's cries filled the air.

To much. To loud. She couldn't breath. Carl was safe now, surrounded by the others. And Charlie couldn't breath.

Somewhere in her brain, the teen knew she needed to stay with the boy, be there for him, but she couldn't, she wasn't strong enough.

Legs finally obeying her thoughts, the heavy appendages carried her out of the common room and into the cells. Climbing the stairs was a feat but she eventually managed and stumbled into her cell. Because that's what it was. A cell.

Charlie didn't know how she got there but once second she was standing, the next her knees hurt from hitting the ground. She didn't mind the pain, she thought it felt easier to pull in air when the shock went up and through her legs.

It didn't last long. Her whole body felt like it was fighting against her. Her head felt tight and her chest heaved as she struggled to breath.

This was far from the first panic attack Charlie's had. If they ever happened around people, they never knew how to help and always made it worse. Being alone helped. Not surrounded by people, especially ones she didn't know nor trust.

It wasn't the worst attack she's ever had but the worst she's had in awhile. She knew, through the panic of not being able to breath, the fog clouding her mind, blood rushing through her ears, she knew she had to get herself through this. No one else was going to help. No one else could help.

Her grip on the edge of the thin mattress was strong, her knuckles turning white. She bit her lip, hard, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth as her skin split.

What felt like hours later, Charlie pulled in her first of many deep breaths. It hurt to breath but at least she could now.

Prying her fingers apart, the teen slumped against the bed frame, her whole body trembling.

She was tired. Exhausted. Chills shook her already shaky frame as sweat dripped down her head. Nausea hit her hard and Charlie struggled not to lose her breakfast.

It wasn't until she brought a hand to her face, going to cover her mouth when she remembered the blood. Her hands were covered in it. Her hands were covered in Lori's blood.

Get it off. She had to get it off.

She felt the tears now. She wouldn't say she was crying, but her eyes were burning and her cheeks were wet.

Charlie started rubbing her hands and arms on her clothes before realizing she didn't want it there either. There was a blanket on her bed but no matter how hard she scrubbed, some blood remained. It was dry, it wouldn't come off without water.

Fumbling with the bottle next to her bag, Charlie poured it over her arms, the warm liquid splashing onto the floor. She couldn't bring herself to care about the mess.

Once satisfied that all blood was gone, Charlie fell back against the bed frame, trying to calm herself down. She sat for a while, she didn't know how long, time seemed to blend together. But soon enough, the teen was pulling herself onto shaky legs. She needed to check on Carl. Stopping at the edge of her cell, Charlie turned back and grabbed her bag, stripping off her shirt in replace of a thin long sleeves one.

With one last deep breath, Charlie turned to the door and walked towards it. She gripped the rail tight in her hands, taking measured steps down the stairs and towards the common room.

The baby was still crying, sitting unhappily in her brothers arms. Hershel and Glenn were talking quietly in a far off corner. Beth was sitting with Carl, trying to help quiet the hungry infant.

Charlie though she should enter the room, join the children where they sat at a table close to the door. But once again, her feet wouldn't listen to her command to move.

For the first time, Charlie noticed who wasn't there. She knew Maggie and Daryl were out on a run. But she didn't see T-Dog or Carol.

The moment Charlie realized two more of their group, two people she cared for were gone, she felt the urge to run back to her cell. But just when her legs started to move, the door burst open and the others an in.

"Beth." Maggie shouted to her sister, dumping the contents of her bag onto a table.

"How she doin?" Charlie just made out Daryl's question from across the room, her eyes tracking his movements. He took the baby from Carl's arms, shushing her as he did.

Out of the corner of her eye, Charlie saw the prisoners enter as Daryl took the offered bottle from Beth. Normally the sight of Daryl feeding such a small child, an easy smile on his face would've instantly brought a much lager one to her own lips. But the teen was only able to muster a small, strain one when his eyes found hers.

"She got a name yet?" The hunter asked when his eyes turned to the Carl.

"Not yet." The boy mumbled with a shake of his head. "But I was thinking maybe Sofia. Then there's Carol, too. And Andrea. Amy. Jacqui. Patricia." Each name that past through the boys mouth made Charlie's stomach churn. She felt selfish for it, like she didn't have the right to feel bad for the ones they lost. But the next name from the boys mouth cause the teen to look down and bite down on her split lip. "Or... Lori. I don't know."

"You like that? Huh? Little ass-kicker. Right?" Daryl asked, looking at everyone in the group as most let out soft chuckles. "That's a good name, right? Little ass-kicker. You like that, huh? You like that, sweetheart?"

She wanted to stay. She really did. It felt wrong not to. She wanted to reach out to Carl, be there for him. The boy just lost his mother and Charlie couldn't pull herself together enough to be there for him.

So with one last glance at the group, Charlie snuck away to her cell. She didn't want to be in there, it made her feel claustrophobic but there was no other way she knew to leave without passing by the others.

Time passed, Charlie wasn't sure how much. The only thing she did know was how tired she felt. She didn't sleep the night before and after the day they all just had, she didn't think she'd be able to stand back up.

Charlie would later blame it on the exhaustion taking over her mind for the reason she flinched. The knock to her left was unexpected and the teens head snapped to her cells doorway.

Once her mind realized the person standing there wasn't a threat, Charlie relaxed. Shoulders dropped and her head hung once again, arms wrapped around herself.

"The baby okay?" Charlie asked Daryl as he leaned on the door frame.

"Yeah." He nodded, chewing the inside of his lip as he regarded the girl in front of him. "And you?" He tried to appear nonchalant but couldn't deny the fact that he worried for then teenager.

"I'm fine." She mumbled. It was bullshit and they both knew it but thankfully Daryl didn't call her out on it. He did move though. Slowly into the cell, Daryl took a seat on the bed next to the girl.

"You look like shit." Well that was unexpected. It's probably why Charlie was unable to stop the amused snort she let out as his words. She had no doubt she looked like complete crap at the moment.

"Right back at ya." She mumbled without looking up, any and all amusement she felt gone. She wanted to close her eyes, so much. Her head hurt and her body felt like lead weighing her down. But she couldn't. Charlie was reminded of that night a few months ago when she had the same problem. She'd surprised herself when she admitted it to Daryl. Admitted why she couldn't sleep. But she had. Maybe she could do it now too.

"I can't close my eyes." She whispered, once again afraid for him to hear her words. Admitting fear wasn't easy for anyone. Especially Charlie. Fear meant weakness, and in her life you couldn't afford to be weak. Weakness means death.

Daryl didn't speak for which Charlie was grateful for but she did see him nod from the corner of her eye. Charlie wasn't a people person. The only ones she's ever known only let her down or hurt her. But she felt comforted but Daryl's presence.

Maybe he made her feel safe. Charlie honestly didn't know what that felt like. "Has Rick come back?" Change the subject. Perfect.

"Nah." Daryl mumbled, noticing the way Charlie swayed back and forth, fighting to hold her body upright. She was exhausted, he could see that but knew she was afraid to sleep. He didn't know what to say to help her no matter how much he wished he did.

"Is he going to be okay?" The man had just lost his wife. They hadn't been on the best terms, the whole group knew that. It probably only served to further his grief. Charlie knew she wouldn't be okay after something like that. Hell, she wasn't okay now.

"Rick's strong." Daryl nodded. "He'll be fine." In time.

"Your good with her. " Charlie spoke, finding anything she could to talk about and distract herself. "The baby."

"Y'know Merle had a kid." That got her attention. Charlie turned her head, eyebrows raised as she looked up at Daryl. "Jus' some girl. Merle claimed he didn't want anythin' to do with 'em. But he did." Daryl continued, his eyes forward. "I helped out a bit when he wasn't around. But she moved away, took the kid with her."

"Was he sad?" Charlie couldn't imagine the older Dixon brother being sad. Or the younger one. But the question pushed passed her lips before she could stop it.

"Said he wasn't." Daryl scoffed. "He was."

"You ever see them again?"

"Nah." Daryl shook his head, his blue eyes meeting Charlie's grey ones. "They're better off that way."

"I disagree." She told him. Charlie didn't see Merle as father material and she'd only known him for a short time. But she'd known Daryl for a year and couldn't imagine anyone would be better off without him.

Silence fell between the two once again. The short conversation was enough to distract Charlie from the fatigue taking over for a short time. But now that they were done talking, it hit her full force again and her body swayed heavily, head drooping low. It was like falling asleep, only faster. Like passing out. Charlie knew what that was like, she'd done it before. Her body had finally had it and would no longer listen to her commands to stay up, to stay awake.

Daryl figured it was only a matter of time before Charlie fell asleep or even fainted. He'd seen the dark circles under her eyes that morning, more prominent than normal. And after today, he didn't blame her.

When her small frame started tilting backwards, the teen making to move to stop herself from hitting the wall behind her, Daryl reached out, hand clasping around her arm. She didn't even flinch at the contact, confirming Daryl's suspensions that she was completely out of it.

Gently lowering her onto the bed, Daryl lifted her legs to join before covering her with a blanket. He'd deny ever doing it though. Daryl Dixon was many things, but soft wasn't one of them.

Sighing, Daryl spared the sleeping teenager one last look, his eyes lingering on her split lip before he turned away.

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**Thanks for reading! Not the longest chapter but I really liked the ending. Love big brother Daryl! I would love to read what you guys think. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a sucker for reviews. Love you guys! I'll hopefully have the next chapter up soon.**

**Also I've been having problems when I edit these parts and I think I got the biggest ones in this chapter, but if you see any feel free to point them out and I'll fix it. Thanks!**

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	7. Is Anything Permanent?

**Yay, another chapter. I should probably space out my posting time but can't help myself. I'm excited for you guys to read it. Got most of the next chapter written so should be up tomorrow.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews! They're the reason I'm writting so fast. **

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and keep an eye out for the next one. I don't want to spoil anything but...Daryl can be an idiot sometimes, that's all I'll say.**

**Words: 3,879?**

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Solemn. That was a good word to describe the common room the morning after disaster. Everyone was gathered around, in their own worlds as they ate.

Charlie sat by herself but knew Daryl was only a few feet away on some stairs. Despite the teens nausea she ate anyway. One thing she'd learned in her life was when you were given food, you eat it. You never know when you'll eat again. So she did, suffering through each bite that made her want to puke it right back up.

It'd be fine. Wasn't the first time. She had more important things to worry about. Like Carl, who wasn't eating.

"Everybody okay?" Rick's voice rang out, drawing every ones attention to him.

"Yeah, we are." Maggie nodded, food forgotten as she looked to their leader.

"What about you?" Hershel asked, looking up as Rick approached the table he sat at.

"I cleared out the boiler block."

"How many were there?" Daryl asked, his voice easily carrying across the room.

"I don't know." Rick sighed. "A dozen, two dozen. I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl."

"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies." Glenn jumped to his feet, trying to stop the older man from disappearing again. "Okay, you don't have too."

"No, I do." Rick argued, his words final. "Everyone have a gun and a knife?" He asked, walking past the others to stand in front of Daryl.

"Yeah. We're running low on ammo, thought."

"Maggie and me were planning on making a run this afternoon. Found a phone book with some places we an hit, look for bullets and formula." Glenn informed, gesturing to his girlfreind as he did.

"We cleared out the generator room." Daryl continued. "Axel's there trying to fix it, in case of imergency. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well."

"Good. Good." Rick nodded, walking back into the tunnels as Hershel called out to him.

After finishing her food, Charlie waited. For what? She didn't know. Until Carl stood from his seat and walked back into the cell block.

Jumping to her feet, Charlie raced after him, calling out softly to get his attention. "Hey."

"Hey." The boy mumbled, his eyes meeting hers for a short moment until his head dropped.

"Hey, so, I'm sorry." Charlie sighed, unsure of what else to say.

"For?" Carl questioned quietly, still not meeting her eyes. Charlie worried he was mad at her and if he was, she wouldn't blame him.

"I wasn't there for you. After..." She trailed off. "And I'm sorry. It was selfish." Carl looked up then, his eyes meeting hers and Charlie found herself wishing he hadn't. It seemed harder to talk this way. "I couldn't pull myself together enough to be there for you when you needed it most. And I'm supposed to be there for you, always."

Blowing out a breath, Charlie felt better and worse at the same time as her words hung in the air. She needed to say those things and was glad she had, but the teen was scared Carl wouldn't forgive her.

With that in mind, surprise came easily when Carl lunged forward, his arms wrapping around Charlie's waist. Her arms hovered over him, shock written across her face until they lowered, resting over the boy, holding him to her.

She thought about saying sorry again but she'd already apologized for not being there. Hearing sorry after you lose someone never serves to make anyone feel better, Charlie knew so she didn't say it. She just held Carl close, his hat falling to the floor when it hit her chin. The contact didn't make Charlie uncomfortable, but this was Carl, it didn't surprise her.

"Alright." Charlie sighed as Carl pulled away, trying to give the boy a smile. "Can't go losing this." She told him, retrieving his hat from the floor and placing it on his head and over his eyes.

Fixing his hat, Carl gives Charlie the smallest of smiles that didn't quite reach his eyes. It was a start. "Thanks. But, you don't always have to be there for me. Sometimes..." Carl trailed off, kicking the floor with his boot clad feet. "Sometimes you have to be there for yourself."

"When did you get so wise?" Charlie asked after she recovered from her shock. Carl only shrugged, ducking his head as heat rose in his cheeks. "Do me a favor?"

"Hmm?" Carl hummed in question, looking up to meet Charlies eyes.

"Try to eat your breakfast? Don't need you feeling weak all day, okay?"

"Okay." Carl mumbled, nodding his head and turning away to return to his uneaten food.

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"_I'm not sure." A fourteen-year-old Charlie said as she eyed her friends warily._

_"Oh come on, it'll me fun. We've all done it." Cassie, an eighteen year old girl insisted, her dyed black hair hanging losly around her face. _

_"Yeah, it doesn't even hurt, just pinches." Josh assured the girl, trying not to rub the sore spot on his arm._

_"But, I don't have a number, I'm not out yet. It'll only change." Charlie argued. She didn't not want to do it, she liked the idea of getting a tattoo but that was permanent. She wasn't used to permanent. _

_"Just do like I did." Tony suggested, holding up his wrist to show the girl black tally marks lining his tan skin. "I got mine before I was out. This way you can add on when needed."_

_Weighing her options the young teen looks around at her friends before nodding, a smile pulling at her lips when they all cheered._

_"Alight, hop on up." Tony motioned to the chair next to him. "Where we doing it?"_

_"Um," Charlie mumbled chewing her lip before rolling up her sleeve, putting to her inner forearm, right below her elbow. "Here."_

_"Good choice." Cassie commented, staying by the girls side. The older teenager realized she might have pressured Charlie into this and felt a little bad. That wasn't her intention but she also knew the younger teen didn't do anything she didn't want to._

_The others, sans Tony, got roman numerals, the number of homes they were in before getting out of foster care. Josh got his on his arm as well, Cassie wanted hers on her side, right over her ribs. _

_The three teens had showed up at Charlie newish home, she luckily hadn't moved far from her last one and was able to stay in touch with them. They had been excited, rushing to inform her about the tattoo gun Tony acquired. _

_Tony was nineteen. He'd been in this area for a few years and got a good job somewhere local. Enough to afford rent at a cheap apartment with his roommate._

_Cassie was nice but only towards her friends. Most people would call her rude or a bitch but that was just the wall she hid behind. It wasn't her fault. She'd had been in foster care since she was six. But a year ago, her luck turned and she was adopted by an older couple. _

_Josh was, well, Charlie wasn't sure. He was nice but didn't like to talk about himself. Not that she blamed him, she didn't like talking about herself either. _

_"Alright, this will pinch." Tony warns the girl before bringing the needle down on her arm. Charlie had moved around quite a bit in her fourteen years. She'd been in the system for as long as she could remember. Babies usually get adopted easier than older kids but not Charlie. She suspected it was because of her health. As a small child she was in and out of the hospital a lot and people just didn't want to deal with that. She was okay now though. Maybe a little skinny and lacking in vitamin D, but otherwise okay._

_Tony was right, it didn't hurt, not that Charlie would mind. The needle bit into her skin at a fast pace and it stung a little, but not much. She couldn't care less though, surrounded by the few people she trusted, Charlie found herself happy. That was a rare feeling in her life, and she'd enjoy every second of it she got_

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Yet again, Charlie found herself in her memories, her fingers running over the black marks on her arm absentmindedly.

Maggie and Glenn left a while ago. Few hours maybe. That's how the teenager found herself perched on top of the guard tower next to the gate. She knew someone else could have let them out but the prison was starting to get too stuffy.

Daryl was in the tunnels with Carl and Oscar. Charlie didn't know much about the prisoners but they seemed alright. He'd asked if she wanted to come but Charlie denied, telling him she'd be outside if she was needed. She thought he didn't look to happy but he'd only asked if she had her gun before letting her go when she nodded.

Charlie wouldn't say she had the best hearing, but outside, the walker's moans the only noise around, it wasn't hard to hear the prison door slamming shut.

She'd been so distracted in her thoughts, the noise made her jump before climbing to her feet. It was difficult but she made out the people coming outside. Rick. So he'd finally come out of the tunnels.

The teen almost smiled until she noticed the man passing the baby to Carl before making his way down the field. She didn't notice until he got closer that he had a curious look on his face, eyes glue to one spot.

From so high up, it was harder to see what he was looking at. But a figure holding a bright red shopping car, limping up to the walkers who didn't seem to notice them. Well, that was hard to miss.

Rushing down in time to meet with Carl, the two stood by the fence, watching the women stab a near-by walker with her sword. So cool, Charlie couldn't help but think.

"Should we help her?" Carl asked his dad, the keys jingling in his hands.

Without answering, Rick moved towards the kids, his eyes staying on the stranger as she struggled to fight off walkers. Now, Charlie wasn't the biggest fan of strangers but she couldn't deny her want to help this woman.

Her heart rate picked up as she watched the woman go down, walkers advancing fast. She wasn't getting up. Charlie guess her injury was to much. She couldn't very well watch this person get eaten when she could help. So removing her gun from its holster, Charlie fired two quick shot, putting the walkers closest down.

"Carl!" Rick called, holding his hand out for the keys, catching them when they were thrown to him."Shit." The man mumbled as more walkers approahed, taking out his own gun as did Carl.

With Rick distracted by the women, Charlie grabbed the shoping basket filled with baby formula and other things. That only served to send a pang of worry through her heart. Why did this women show up with baby formula?

Carl grabbed her bag which was closer to the fence, all the while shooting down walkers as Rick searched the women over.

"Is she bit?" Hershel asked from inside the gate.

"Gunshot." Rick responded before lifting the women over his shoulder. He made it look so easy too.

Charlie took the time to close and lock the gate behind them all before rushing to catch up. She thought about staying with Hershel, the man wasn't as fast as he used to be, but he nodded and told her to go ahead.

"Carl, get a blanket." Rick ordered, his voice strained as he dragged the women through the room. "Charlie, water and a towel."

Dropping the basket on a table, Charlie quickly gathered the things and handed them over to Rick. "She's not coming in the cell blocks." He said, mumbled a quick thank you to the teen when he took the offered items. "It's alright, it's alright." He told the lady. "Hey, hey, look at me. Look at me. Who are you?"

"No, we're not going to hurt you." Rick said, kicking away the sword when the woman reached for it. "Unless you try something stupid first, alright?"

"Carl." Charlie mumbled, pulling the boy back slightly, reaching down to pull the sword away. She felt bad for taking it. She knew very well how it felt when people touched your things but pardon her for being cautious.

Rick opened his mouth, about to speak again from where he was kneeled next to the lady, but a voice cut him off.

"Rick." Looking behind her, Charlie saw Daryl coming into the room from the cell block, his face holding confusion. "Who the hell is this?" He asked, eyes catching Charlie's before turning away.

"You wanna tell us your name?" Rick asked the women again, backing away and allowing her to sit up. "You wanna tell us your name?" He repeated, voice only a whisper then the woman didn't answer.

"Y'all come on in here." Daryl said when he realized the woman wasn't going to speak.

"Everything alright?"

"You're gonna want to see this." Well that was cryptic, Charlie thought, giving Daryl a confused look to which he responded with a nod, motioning into the cells.

"Go ahead." Rick nodded, taking the sword from Charlie when she held it out to him. "Carl, get the bag."

Rick continued talking to the women, telling her she was safe as everyone filled out of the room.

Following Daryl's motion to go forward, Charlie waited until Rick past and the barred door was shut before following after.

It's safe to say the teen was confused, as was Rick and the others but all became clear soon when Daryl stopped next to a cell. Charlie had been surprised so many times in her life, she thought it would've lost it's affects on her by now. But as the teenager watch a women she assumed to be dead sitting in front of her, she'd admit to being surprised.

Carol stood from the bunk, her arms wrapping around Rick in a hung before moving onto Hersehl who asked. "How?"

"Solitary." Was Carols reply, a small laugh leaving her mouth.

Charlie couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face at the reunion, her hands going to rest on Carl's shoulders.

"Poor thing fought her way into a cell. Must have passed out. Dehydrated." Daryl informed as Beth stepped forward with the baby.

No words were said. No words were needed. Carol knew. Lori was gone. Charlie looked down, squeezing Carl's shoulders when the boy started to fidget.

* * *

"You're not-"

"Coming, yeah I know." Charlie cut Daryl off, a little more than annoyed. She understood his reasoning but two of their group had been taken and she wanted to help. But of course, the 'children' needed to stay were it was safe.

"We'll bring 'em back." Daryl said, dropping the last supplies into the cars trunk, his eyes seeking out Charlies. She was upset, he knew. She wanted to save her friends. But he couldn't have her out there, he wouldn't be able to focus.

"I know you will." She mumbled with a sigh, head down as she kicked the ground. Despite her words, Charlie was worried. For Glenn and Maggie. For Daryl, Rick, Oscar. She was worried some wouldn't come back. Or none at all. She wasn't sure what she'd do if that happened. "Carl decided on a name." It was random timing, but she didn't know what else to say. "For the baby. Judith."

"Hmm." Daryl nodded, leaning on the car in front of her, chewing his thumb nail.

"Be safe, yeah?" Charlie forced the words out, pushing off the car. The tone in her words sounded casual but meant more than that. She wasn't a touchy feely person. But neither was Daryl.

"Yeah." Daryl nodded, turning as Charlie walked passed him.

"See ya when you get back." The teen mumbled, feeling Daryl tap her shoulder as she passed by, going to join Carl. "Let's go find your sister, yeah?" She said to the boy, nudging his shoulder over to where Carol was going inside, baby held in her arms.

"Can I?" Charlie asked Carol, holding her arms out towards Judith, allowing the older women to place the baby in them. "Hey, sweetie." She mumbled, smiling down at the child. This was her first time holding her but not her first time holding a baby.

"She has your eyes." Charlie told Carl when he sat next to her.

"Are you worried? About the others?" Carl asked, his voice only a whisper echoing through the big room.

"No." Charlie mumbled, her eyes flicking over to his. "Being worried won't change anything." That might have been true but Charlie was worried. But Carl didn't need to know that, she had to be strong for him.

* * *

It was getting late. The sun had yet to set but with each passing minute the others didn't return made the worry inside Charlie grow. She knew they probably wouldn't be back until tomorrow or the next day, but she hated waiting. She needed to know everyone was alright.

The teenager had just checked on a sleeping Judith when distant screams rang through the prison. "Where do you think you're going?" She asked Carl when she caught up to him, his gun drawn.

"Those screams came from the tunnels." The boy said, only stopping when Charlie stood in front of him, blocking his path.

"And you were going to go down there alone?" She asked incredulously. "What happened to telling me before you ran off by yourself?"

"There's no time." Carl argued, pushing past the girl.

"Carl." Charlie called after him, pausing when the boy spun on his heel, his face saying everything he felt without needing words. "Fine." She ground out hesitantly. "But you stay with me, okay? Do _not_ stray from my side, do you understand?"

Nodding, Carl turned again and opened the tunnel door, impatiently waiting until Charlie went first. He didn't like her rules, but he was listening to them.

The tunnels were eerily quite, the faint screams their only guide. Until it wasn't. Who knew walkers could be so quiet. Luckily it was only one and Carl quickly shot it down before they moved on once more.

When Carl hesitated, Charlie followed his eyes to a very familiar door. The sign read boiler room, the rest of the words escaping Charlie's mind when flashes of Lori's dead body, cut open appeared behind her eyes.

"Let's go." The teen ground out through gritted teeth. Sure that Carl was following her, they continued through the maze, the noises getting louder until they were right on them.

Once inside the room, Carl and Charlie took aim, shooting down the walkers the five people were fighting off.

Charlie didn't have time to think about the fact they were leading five strangers back to their group before Carl was calling out to them and they were running once more. She only hoped this didn't come back to bite them in the ass.

One of the strangers was being carried by another, a bite obvious on her arm. But they refused to leave her. She was their family, it's hard to leave family behind, no matter what.

"I'll take care of it." Carl said once they made it to the common room, his gun pointed at the dead lady's head.

"Carl." Charlie warned, her gun gripped tightly in her hand, still wary of the new people.

"Woah! Woah kid, wait a minute." One man spoke, holding up a hand to stop Carl.

"She doesn't have that long." Carl argued before Charlie could get a word in. Not that she needed to, he was doing a pretty good job without her.

"Who the hell are you? How did you get in here? Who are you with?" The last woman asked, her questions coming out before there was time to answer them.

"We'll explain later, but first." Charlie said, stepping forward as she motioned to the ticking time bomb that was once a person.

"No, we take care of out own." The same man as before spoke up.

"You sure?" Charlie asked. She understood where he was coming from, but it was a hard thing to do. Sometimes letting someone else do it was just easier.

"Yeah." He mumbled before turning his attention to one of his groups other members.

With the strangers distracted, Charlie nudged Carl over to the door. She didn't trust these people, especial not around Carl. They could lock them in here until the others got back. Or something. Charlie honestly had no idea what to do.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The woman asked, her attention coming to them as Carl locked the door.

"Did you just lock us in here?" The man spoke this time and Charlie briefly wondered what he thought of them. The only people he could see was herself, Carl, and Beth. Just a bunch of kids. Not very intimidating if you ask her.

"Open the door." The women commanded. They really needed names here.

"This room is safe, it's secure." Charlie thought that might help ease their minds but despite her words, and the added ones from Carl, they didn't seem very happy. Not that she could blame them.

"There's food and water."

"Open this door."

"I can't."

"Come on man, we're not animals. Don't do this." She sounded more scared now than she had before and Charlie felt bad.

"Look, it's not forever, just until we figure this out." Charlie told her, holding a hand up to the woman in a peaceful gesture.

"You can't just leave us in here! Open this door!" Must to her chagrin, Charlie flinched when the woman hit the bars, sending a loud bang throughout the room.

"Sasha!" The man said, pulling the lady back. One name down, three to go. "Back away from the door, and let them go." Until we got this guys name, he'll be Mr. Reasonable. "Look around you, this is the best we've had in weeks." He spoke softly. "Their house. We got other things to do. We don't want any trouble."

"Shouldn't we help them?" Beth asked as she watched them walk away.

"We did." Charlie mumbled, rubbing a hand over her tired face as she herself walked away.

* * *

**Welp, any ideas on what's happening next chapter? Don't get me wrong, I love Charlie, but I keep putting her through stuff she doesn't deserve.**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoyed and let me know what you think. (Sorry for any mistakes, I know there are some)**

* * *

'-'


	8. Why Do We Let Ourselves Trust?

**I'm having some plot issues. There are a few things I'm unsure about. Things I want to make happen but don't quite know how so after this ****chapter I might not post daily but it hopefully won't be a long wait. **

**I was gonna hold off on this chapter but I promised I'd post today and I don't want to keep you guys waiting. So here we are, hope you enjoy! (And let me know what you think cause I'm insecure as crap) Thanks! Love you guys.**

**Also woke up at 3 am this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Like, what the hell brain? **

**Words: 4,422?**

* * *

So much shit had just gone down the group couldn't think straight. Everything was such a mess. Oscar is dead. Glenn was beat to shit. Something unsaid was going on with Maggie. Michonne went MIA for a while. And the real kicker, Merle was back.

"Seriously, you're going to leave? Just like that?" Glenn asked Daryl with a scoff. He felt betrayed, he thought of Daryl as part of his family and now he was just leaving them.

"You'd do the same thing." Daryl argued, his words sounding weak even to himself.

"What do we tell Carol?" Glenn asked, the women not the only person on his mind.

"She'll understand." Daryl shrugged. Merle was family. Blood. How could he leave him?

"Oh yeah?" Glenn was mad now. How could he just leave them? "And what about Charlie?" That got a bigger reaction from the man. As much of a reaction that you can get out of Daryl. He didn't say anything at first. Only took his lip between his teeth and looked down. "She looks up to you. You were the first person she trusted."

"Well she shouldn't." Just thinking those words made Daryl feel wrong. He wasn't used to feelings. He always pushed those things away. But one person. A sixteen-year-old teenager made it hard not to care. Not that he didn't care for the others in the group. They had become his family in a short time. But Merle was still blood and they were asking him to do the imposssible. You can't leave behind blood.

"Merle's family, she'll get that." With just those words, Daryl finaly felt himself betraying them. Betraying Charlie.

* * *

"You guys go on." Rick mumbled to Carol and Carl as he gestured towards the prison. "Charlie." He called to the teenager a few feet away. "I need to talk to you."

Dread. Charlie would say that's what she felt fill her entire body when Rick said those words. "What's up?" The teen asked, keeping her face blank and voice steady, prepairing herself for the worst.

Rick wasn't a tall person, average hight for a man but Charlie was still on the shorter side. Despite growing over the winter. So to be closer to her eye level, Rick croached on the ground in front of her, taking a breath and running a hand over his face. Delivering bad news had been a part of Rick's life for a long time. It came with his job. But it never got easier.

"Daryl's okay, you need to know that." He started, looking into Charlie's cold grey eyes. He'd always thought the young teens eyes looked way to old to belong to her. Like someone who'd seen to much to only be sixteen. "We ran into his brother."

Nodding, Charlie clilntched her teeth as her heart lowered into her gut. She was stupid to think...It doesn't matter.

"They went off." Rick had tried to think about what to say to the girl on the way back but couldn't. His mind was on everything all at once, to much to think clearly. But even if it wasn't, he would never have found the right words. "He said..." He hesitated, wondering if he should even tell her this. "He said Merle was family, that you'd get that."

Rick would be lying if he said he wasn't angry at Daryl. He supposed somewhere inside of him he could understand the decision he made. But he'd still left them.

"Yeah, no, I get it. Merle is Daryl's family." Charlie surprised herself when her voice came out steady and calm. Because that's sure as hell not what she felt on the inside. She felt sad, angry, confused, betrayed. But most of all, she was mad at herself. She never should've let herself get close to anyone, they always leave in the end.

"Charlie-"

"It's fine." She cut Rick off, shaking her head with a forced smile. "He made his choice." The teen mumbled before walking around Rick, leaving the man croached on the ground.

"You're fine, you're fine." Charlie mumbled to herself as she entered the prison, passing by the new people and her own group as she headed to her cell. "It's fine." The teen repeated, her whispers bouncing off the small concrete walls around her.

She was not going to cry over this. She was not going to freak out. He made his choice, he left. She'd be fine. It was stupid to ever think she could trust him, trust anyone. "You're okay, you're okay." Voice cracking, Charlie brought her hands up to grip her head, hair falling around her face when she tugged it from its ponytail.

Her hair had gotten longer over the winter but Charlie could never bring herself to cut it. If she did it herself she had no doubt it would look horrible, not that she cared to much. And she never had the nerve to allow someone behind her with something sharp so close to her neck.

"Stupid." Charlie said, her breath picking up when her panic was mixing with anger. Her body felt like it was vibrating. Something akin to chills were shooting down her spine and before she could stop herself, Charlie spun on her heel, fist connecting with the wall.

The pain wasn't instant, her fist almost felt numb. It was when she brought her hand back to her, hot spikes of pain shot through her knuckles and up her hand. Once again Charlie thought about how she didn't mind the pain. It made her panic all but disapear. Not the anger she felt, that would be sticking around for a while.

Gritting her teeth, Charlie forced herself to take messured breaths through her nose as she assessed the damage to her hand. Her skin was slip open, blood slowly dripping out and the teen had no doubt it would soon be followed by bruises.

Holding her hand to her chest, Charlie's head snaps to the door when she hears yelling. It sounds like Rick. That couldn't be good. Especially with the new people around.

Deciding to investigate, Charlie leaves her cell and jogs down the stairs. The voices got louder the got closer to the common room. Rick's voice was the loudest but there were others mixed with it. The teen didn't know what to expect when she entered the room, but Rick waving his gun around while he yelled at someone to get out wasn't it.

For the first time ever, Charlie felt fear shoot through her towards Rick. She wanted to leave, run back to her cell but her eyes landed on Carl. Pushing herself into the room, Charlie stood behind the boy and wrapped an arm around his shoulders as Glenn got the new people outside.

* * *

The struggled to sleep and Charlie had never been strangers. But these days they were becoming close friends it seems. Or enimies. Whatever you want to call it.

Some nights the girl found herself falling asleep with no problem, but others her body just wouldn't shut off. Like tonight. Maybe it was the days events playing in her mind. She didn't know and she didn't care, all she wanted was to shut off for a few hours.

She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she wanted Daryl to come back. No, she wished he never left in the first place. She was so angry at him that if she saw his stupid face again, not punching him would be a difficult task.

Who does he think he is? Coming into her life, making her care and then just leaving. He's no better than anyone else Charlie's had in her life. She didn't know what it felt like to have an older sibling, a brother, before he came along. Then she did. Now he's gone. And it was his choice.

When someone you care about is gone, you get sad. You grieve for them. Now, Daryl wasn't dead, that Charlie knew of, he wasn't here so she honeslty didn't know. But he was gone and she couldn't be sad about it because she was so angry at him.

Then she felt bad about not checking up on Glenn and Maggie. Glenn's face looks like he went a few rounds with an angry bull and lost. Maggie didn't look injured but Charlie could tell something was wrong. She'd go see the woman tomorrow. Right now there wans't much she could do.

Squeezing her sore hand, Charlie blows out a puff of air before turned on her side and closing her eyes.

* * *

"Thank you." Charlie mumbled to Carol, taking the bowl from the older lady's hands. Everyone was awake and rushing to finish eating so they could get started for the day. Glenn was on a warpath, he wanted to figure out how Tyreese's group got in and fix it.

The teenager hadn't seen Maggie though. She knew where she was and grabbed an extra bowl of food before hunting the woman down.

Using her uninjured knuckles, Charlie knocks on the wall beside the cell to alert Maggie of her presence. "Here." She mumbled, passing the food over as she sat next to her on the bed.

"I'm not hungry." Maggie said even though she took the offered food.

"I know." The teen mumbled, her eyes staring straight ahead. With some hesitation, Charlie took a deep breath before she spoke again."When I was nine, I got moved to my fifteenth foster home." She said, her voice quiet. "It seems like a big number, probably should've felt like it too. But after the first few they all seem to blend together." Charlie wasn't one to talk about herself. Daryl was the only one she'd ever even told about being in the system, but despite those facts, she couldn't stop the words from spilling out of her mouth. "That's not my point, anyway."

"I've met a lot of kids in my life, all varying in age and personalities. At this one home, the Wilcots, I think their name was. There was this other foster kid there. An older boy, sixteen, seventeen." The teen shook her head, wringing her hands together in her lap. "I mean he was nice enough, a little too friendly at times. But I didn't think anything of it, I was nine, I just thought he was nice."

"One night my second week their I couldn't sleep. I wasn't aloud out of bed after eight so I just lied there. I don't know what time it was when I heard my door opening. I wasn't to worried, sometimes one of the adults would check on us at night. But as the figure entering my room got closer, I noticed it wasn't either of them, it was the boy." Maggie listened to the girl talk intently. She'd never known Charlie to openly talk about herself. But every word that left her mouth, made Maggie's stomach churn.

"I remember asking what he was doing. He said he couldn't sleep. I shrugged it off, I mean, neither could I. He sat down next to me and said that he knew this game that would help us both sleep. I'm not sure why, maybe it was how he said it but it didn't feel right. I was scared and I didn't even know why." Still avoiding Maggie's gaze, Charlie shook her head with a deep breath, willing herself to continue.

"When he put his hand on my leg, I jumped out of the bed. I guess he scared me more than the thought of getting into trouble because I was going to leave. Going to get one of the adults. But before I could get to the door, he grabbed my arm. I remember how hard he squeezed, the fear I felt when he told me if I said anything, I'd get in big trouble and have to move again. I didn't want to move because I liked it there. Sure they had rules but they were nice. Something I wasn't used too." Charlie didn't know when her eyes become hot but immediately after noticing, the girl blinked the unshead tears away.

"Mrs. Wilcot came into the room a few seconds later. I think she had woken up and wanted to check on us." Charlie shrugged, she'd never cared to find out why the woman was awake. "I moved houses the next week."

"It's funny, I don't even remember his name." Charlie gave a humorless chuckle. "So many things about my past I remember, that night in detail being one of them. But not his name."

"I don't know why I told you that." Charlie said suddenly, shaking her head. "I've never told anyone before. Even if nothing actualy happened. I don't think I completely understood what could've have happened until a couple years later."

"You were just a little girl." Maggie said once she found her voice, eyes glued to the side of Charlie's head.

"Yeah." Charlie mumbled. "But I haven't been a little girl in a long time. I couldn't afford to be. I had to grow up."

"Sorry, didn't mean to spill my guts." Charlie sent the woman a smile. She wasn't sure why that specific thing came to mind but when it did, the teen couldn't stop herself from talking once she'd started.

"No." Maggie mumbled. "Thank you for telling me."

"Do me a favor?"

"Anything." Turning her head, Charlie meet's Maggie's eyes with a small smile.

"Eat your breakfast, please?"

"Okay." Maggie nodded, managing her own small smile for the girl.

"Okay." Charlie repeated with a sigh. "I'll leave you too it, I promised Beth I'd help her with Judith."

* * *

Hershel was a very tough old man. In more ways than one. He'd lost most of his family but didn't let grief over take him. He'd lost his leg and survived without the best medical attention. No offence to Carol. He'd stayed posotive throughout the whole ordeal. He was very level headed and wise.

But he was still an old man with only one leg. Charlie wasn't comfortable letting him wander to far on his own, even if she knew he could handle himself. Hershel was someone she cared deeply for, she couldn't let anything happen to him.

Even if he was just going right outside the prison, the teen took to a lose follow, allowing him the privacy he needed to talk to Glenn.

"You're not going back to Woodbury, are you?" She was far enough back but still close enough to listen. Althouh she acted like she couldn't hear them.

"No." Came Glenn's hesitated reply. "I'm just going out there." Charlie knew Glenn had talked to Maggie after she left. She wasn't sure what was said, only that it wasn't good.

"I'll go with you."

"I got it." Charlie couldn't hold back her scoff at that. Glenn wasn't in the best place right now. Being alone might help but not being alone out there.

"By youself? How can you possibly think that's a good idea?"

"I can't just sit on my hands." That was understandable but running -driving- off wasn't going to help anyone.

"You went on a simple formula run and got the crap beat out of you. And Maggie was attacked."

"Are you saying this is my fault?" Glenn asked, his voice raising in volume.

"No."

"I did what I could."

"I know you did. So does Maggie. She's one of the two people most precious to me in this world. I trust you with her life. I still do. This rage is going to get you killed."

"With Daryl gone," Speaking of rage, at the mention of the hunter, Charlie grits her teeth, flexing her sore hand. "and Rick wandering crazytown, I'm the next in charge."

"What are you proving?" Hershel called after Glenn as he walked to the car.

Rushing past the old man, Charlie ignored his call to her and quickly climbed into the passenger side of the truck Glenn was using.

"Charlie-" He started.

"Just shut up and drive." The teen said, her voice stern and leaving no room for argument. "This is stupid, just so you know."

"Then why'd you come?"

"Someones got to keep an eye on you." Charlie grumbled. "Maybe try to talk some sense into you. But if Hershel couldn't do it then I don't have a very high success rate."

"Char-"

"You're pissed, I get it." Charlie cut Glenn off for the second time, ignoring the way his lips pulled back into a thin line. "About getting the shit beat out of you. About Oscar. About...Daryl." Charlie forced herself to say, sighing before she continued. "But mostly about Maggie. You love her and someone hurt her. You feel responsible, like you should've done more to help her or killed the person who did it."

"Hate to break it to you Glenn, but you did all you could've and this." She gestured forward at the road they were driving down. "This isn't helping anyone. I know what it's like to be responsible for someone who's gotten hurt. Unable to protect them. To feel like it was all on you and now you gotta do whatever it takes to make it right."

Taking a breath, Charlie's eyes switched from Glenn's face to his white knuckles gripping the stearing wheel. "I know..." Rethinking her words, Charlie puts her head down, thinking about what she was about to say, wondering if it was worth it. "My responsibility was a little boy named Micheal. He got hurt and for the longest time I blamed myself. Still do sometimes. But it doesn't change anything."

Without losening the grip on the wheel, Glenn slows the truck to a stop and puts it in park before carefully rubbing a hand over his face.

"I want him dead." He admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah." Charlie sighed. "I get that."

"What happened to your hand." Glenn asked. He'd seen it earlier but couldn't decided if he should ask or not but he never got the chance.

Charlie wasn't sure why, but she huffed out a laugh, bringing the bruised and cut appendage into her lap. "Punched a wall." She stated matter of factly.

"Why on earth..?" Glenn mumbled.

"What?" Charlie asked, feigning offence. "It pissed me off." Probably not the best choice of words after what she'd just got done talking about but Glenn didn't seem to mind, only rolled his eyes with a tiny smirk.

"You hear that?" Charlie asked, her head pearking up as she listened.

"What?" Glenn questioned, straining his ears to hear what she did. "Gunshots."

"From the prison." Charlie finished, dread filling her entire body as Glenn turned to truck around.

Tense silence filled the vehicle as they drove back, Charlie's head turning as another, unfamiliar truck passed by them. The dread only deepend when the teen saw their gates down and walkers filling the field.

"There." She pointed to Hershel when she saw the older man near the fence. Glenn pulled around, jumping out to help as Michonne caught up with them.

Taking the now vacant drivers seat, Charlie waits until the others were inside the truck before driving it up to the prison yard, stopping as Carl closes the gate behind them. Everyone gathered around, making sure each other were okay before walking to the fence, watching as walkers invaded their home.

* * *

"We're not leaving." Rick said as Charlie made a game out of avoiding Daryl. He didn't make any open attempt to talk to her, but he kept trying to catch her eye.

"We can't stay here." Hershel argued.

"What if there's another sniper? A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds." Maggie said and Charlie thought of Axel. Were they ever going to stop losing people?

"We can't even go outside." Beth put it.

"Not in the daylight." Carol mumbled and Charlie just watched, staying only close enough to be present.

"Rick says we're not running, we're not running." Glenn agreed.

"No, better to live like rats." None other than Merle feaking Dixon said. Yes, his middle name is now freaking. Deal with it.

"You got a better idea?" Rick asked, annoyed by the other mans presence.

"Yeah, we should have slid out of here last night and lived to fight another day. But we lost that window, didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now."

"We ain't scared of that prick." The youngest Dixion said and Charlie bit hard on the inside her her cheek.

"Y'all should be. That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to."

"Let's put him in the other cell block." Charlie agreed with Maggie. When the teen first met Merle she didn't have a problem with him but now she was beyond annoyed by the man.

"No. He's got a point." Shaking her head, Charlie held back a scoff at Daryl's words. When she first saw him again she felt her emotions reignite. Anger, rage, betrayal, all those things. But also a small amount of relief. Not that she's admit it.

"This is all you. You started this." Maggie yelled at Merle.

"What difference whose fault it is? What do we do?"

"I said we should leave. Now Axel's dead. We can't just sit here." Hershel started again, standing when Rick started walking away. "Get back here!" Stopping Rick slowly turned back to face the older man. "You're slipping, Rick. We've all seen it. We understand why. But now is not the time. You once said this isn't a democracy. Now you have to own up to that. I put my family's life in your hands. So get your head clear and do something." If it wasn't such a serious situation, Charlie thought she might applaud the man.

But instead the teen stood from her seat on the floor and snuck off to her cell. It's not like she could go outside.

* * *

It was only a matter of time. Charlie knew but wasn't happy about it. She'd spent the last few minutes convencing herself he wasn't going to come, he didn't care, anything to make her feel better. She didn't want to see him, clearly he didn't feel the same.

"Ki-" Daryl started to say after standing awkwardly in the doorway for a moment, deciding that he would need to be the first to speak.

"I don't know why you're here, but if it's to explain yourself. Save it." Yeah, safe to say she was mad but Charlie thought she did a pretty good job at keeping her voice netural. "I mean, Merle is your family." She couldn't help but spit the word family out like venom off her tongue.

She wasn't looking at him, just sat on her bed facing the wall. Charlie wanted him gone. She didn't want to talk to him right now. Her anger was filling her up and she didn't want to say anything she'd regret. Even if, at the moment, she didn't care

"What happened to your hand?" Daryl asked when he noticed the bruises.

"Nothing." Charlie said with a scoff, removing it from her lap and out of his sight.

"Sure as hell looks like something." Daryl countered, taking a small step into her cell.

"I don't want to hear it." Charlie fumed. "You can't just come in here and act like you care after leaving."

"Cha-" Before Daryl could even finish the word, Charlie rounded on him. Standing from the bed to meet his eyes for the first time since he got back.

"You know, there have been _very_ few people in my life that I have cared about. And they _all_ left." She stressed, her angry grey eyes looking into his icey blue ones. "All of them except for you." Charlie didn't even try to stop or wipe away the tear that fell from her burning eyes, instead keeping her clenched fists at her side. "Until you did."

"You left." Another tear fell, joining the other as it splashed to the ground. "That was _your_ choice to make." It was a struggled to keep her voice down when she felt like shouting, her vision blurried by unshed tears. She was just _so_ angry at him. "_You. left_."

"Get out." The teen mumbled, her eyes dropping as Daryl stood still, making no move to leave, only furthering Charlie's anger as she surged forward. "I said, _get. out._" Hitting his chest with each word, Charlie ignored how he stepped back even if her blows weren't strong enough to move him.

Unable to bring herself to say the word leave, Charlie once again repeated her previous words. "Just get out." Meeting her red rimmed eyes one last time, Daryl nodded before leaving the girl alone, his shoulders slumped as he did.

He made a mistake. He'd realized it as soon as he had but didn't know how to take it back. He hated himself for it. He never wanted to hurt Charlie but now he had. And he felt guilty. The image of her red, glassy eyes as she yelled at him to go wouldn't be leaving his mind anytime soon.

* * *

**Well, Daryl fudged up. Big time. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews. Did Charlie over react or were her actions justified?**

**I was unsure about posting the story Charlie told Maggie. I still am I suppose. But I've decided to leave it for now.**

**Until next time, my friends.**

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'-'


	9. The One With a Song

**Long one today. Not sure if that's good or not. There's also a cheesy little scene in here, but shhhh, it's okay, just pretend like it's not.**

**A typo was pointed out to me for the last chapter, I wanted to say thanks for that. I fixed it right away. Please point out anymore so I can fix those too, cause I'm sure there are some lol. **

**Thanks for reading and for the reviews! Hope this chapter is enjoyable. **

**Words: 4,824**

* * *

Wandering the tunnels alone wasn't the best idea Charlie had ever had. But she needed to walk. She needed space and this area was supposed to be clear of walkers.

After calming down from the 'talk' she had with Daryl, Charlie had gone to leave her cell when she heard voices. Sure she had good hearing, but they weren't far away and noise carries easily in the prison.

"Haven't had the chance to say, I'm glad you came back." It had been Carol who spoke and it wasn't a mystery who it was too.

"Not everyone feels the same." Came Daryl's grumbled reply.

"She just needs time. She's upset." That was the last thing Charlie heard before she walked off. She hadn't wanted to hear what else was said. She needed the quiet. She wanted to go outside but it wasn't allowed right now. The teen had thought about sneaking out but figured it was a stupid thing to do, even if she was pissed off.

Even if the tunnels were quiet, they seemed loud. Maybe it was the echos Charlie could hear coming from all around. Maybe quiet wasn't really what she wanted. Punching another wall sounded really good to the teen right then. But her hand was really stiff, she didn't want to mess it up too much.

Everything just felt like it was going wrong. It was stupid to ever think they could just have this place, settle down without some kind of trouble. Charlie found herself more tired than not these days. Sometimes she wondered why even bother but quickly shook those thoughts away, they scared her.

Turns out the tunnels weren't so bad. They didn't compare to the outside, but she'd have to make due. It was easy to hear everything that was going on. The noises echoed throughout the prison and reached the teen's ears easily.

Like voices. Some raised, others not so much. But it was enough to stop Charlie in her steps and look around. It wasn't hard to pinpoint the noise, it was coming from the group's cell block.

"We have to work this out." A familiar voice became clear to Charlie as she got closer, entering the room and quietly as she could.

"There's nothing to work out." Rick said. "We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will."

"We can settle this." Andrea argued while Charlie took her place behind Carl. She felt Daryl's eyes following her movements but continued to ignore him. "There is room at Woodbury for all of you." Okay, even Charlie wasn't naive enough to think that could ever happen.

"You know better than that." Merle chuckled.

"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate." Charlie only knew what little she had heard from the others about this Governor person but she knew his type. And plus, he calls himself the Governor, that at least three red flags right there. Men like him can only see what they want and aren't afraid to do whatever it takes to get it. "Did he say that?"

"No."

"Then why did you come here?"

"Because he's gearing up for war. The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They're training to attack." Charlie might not agree with Andrea but she was trying. She didn't want a fight as much as the next person. But this wasn't the right way.

"I tell you what. Next time you see Philip, tell him I'm gonna take his other eye." Daryl told Andrea before Glenn spoke.

"We've taken too much shit for too long. He wants a war? He's got one."

"Rick. If you don't sit down and try to talk this out. I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a whole town." The blonde said before turned to look at every one. "Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."

"You want to make this right, get us inside."

"No." Came Andrea's unsurprising answer.

"Then we got nothing to walk about."

"There are innocent people." She shouted as Rick walked away, and Charlie couldn't hold back a scoff.

"You okay, bud?" Charlie whispered to Carl, flicking the boy's hat over his eyes.

"Fine." The boy mumbled, fixing his hat. "Where were you?"

"Just went for a walk." Charlie shrugged.

"What happened to not going off alone?"

"Well," The teen snorted. "I meant that for you but I guess you got a point."

"Woah, what happened?" Carl asked, his eyes catching onto Charlie's swollen, bruised hand. She really needed to cover that up.

"Oh, nothing." Charlie shook her hand, pulling it back when Carl tried to take it.

"You should have Hershel look at it." The boy told her, worried for his friend.

"Nah, it's alright. Go find your dad, okay?"

"'Kay." Carl mumbled before walking into the cell black where Rick disappeared too.

Sighing, Charlie lifted her injured hand with her left, surveying the damage. It hurt, she couldn't deny that but it wasn't enough to really bother her. The swelling and stiffness were the problems. Maybe she should have Hershel look at him.

Shaking her head, Charlie turns to leave, her steps faltering when she sees Daryl still sitting at the same table. She was still angry of course but she also felt embarrassed about her little outburst.

Ignoring the man, Charlie picked up her feet and walked passed him, deciding to go to her cell. She was starting too like the tiny room. If the prison lasted, she'd have to fix it up more, put a blanket or something over the door. No offense to these people, but she liked her privacy.

Entering the little room, Charlie fell onto the bunk with a sigh. She sat there for a while. Didn't get up to see Andrea off when she left. Waved away Beth's offer for company as politely as she could. The only movement coming from the girl was the her leg bouncing against the floor. Other than that, she didn't move until...

"Charlie." Hershel greeted the girl with a smile, moving slowly into the cell. "Mind if I take a look at your hand."

"Did Carl tattle on me?" The teen asked, moving over to provide the older man a place to sit.

"Something like that." Hershel was being cryptic, something that didn't go unnoticed by the girl.

"I could have come to you." She said, feeling bad that he had to climb all those stairs.

"I know you wouldn't have." Hershel smiled, knowing how stubborn the girl could be. If she hadn't come to him yet, she wasn't going to. "Let's have it." Sighing, Charlie placed her injured hand into Hershel's, allowing him to turn it and gauge the extent of it. "Can I ask what happened?

"Sure, you can ask." Charlie quipped but shrank back when Hershel raised an eyebrow at her. "Punched a wall." She admitted sheepishly.

"Can't be sure if it's fractured." Hershel mumbled. "How does it feel?"

"Doesn't feel broken. Just stiff. I'm sure it's fine."

"Well dear, you punched a wall, it's possible." Hershel told her as he reached inside the bag he brought.

"Sorry." Charlie mumbled. She hadn't felt bad about punching that stupid wall until Hershel's disappointed gaze was directed at her.

"But it doesn't seem to bad. I'll wrap it and you let me know if it starts bothering you anymore, okay?"

"Okay." Charlie nodded, speaking again when Hershel gave her a disbelieving look. "I promise."

"Why don't you come join the others, get some dinner." He suggested after wrapping Charlie's hand and wrist in a white bandage.

"Maybe later." The teen said with a tired sigh. It was late, she hadn't slept well again the night before. Maybe tonight would be different.

"He made a mistake." Hershel spoke up suddenly, looking down at Charlie from where he stood. "He knows that. But he came back."

"I yelled at him." Charlie admitted, her lip forming a pout while her good hand picked at the loose threads on her blanket.

"I know." Hershel sighed and heat rose in Charlie's cheeks. She guessed some of the others had heard her but until now it hadn't been confirmed. "He chose to come back."

"After he chose to leave." Charlie couldn't stop herself from saying.

"Sometimes we have to make the wrong decision to see what the right one is." No matter how much she wanted to, Charlie couldn't argue with Hershel's words and only nodded instead. "Get some rest."

* * *

Rick was gone. Carl and Michonne with him. They went to find more guns. Charlie wasn't sure what to do with herself and took to cleaning her bag. There wasn't much, some extra clothes and other little things. What caught her attention though was a little brown book. Her sketchbook. She had forgotten about it.

With her hand, Charlie wasn't even going to try and draw but the girl flipped through the used pages. She'd had the book for a while and from the first drawing to the last there was improvement but she was no van Gogh, that's for sure. But she enjoyed it. And it's not like anyone saw them anyway.

Landing on a specific drawing brought back Hershel's words from the night before. They'd rattled around her brain as she lied awake before eventually falling to sleep. She was still mad at him, he'd hurt her, but she hated this. Hated not having him there. She felt safe when she was with him. He left, yes, but he did come back. Now she was pushing him away? It didn't feel right.

"Carol." The teen mumbled, catching the older woman's attention as she left her cell. "Have you seen Daryl?"

"This morning but not recently." The woman said, her own voice soft. "Maybe try the common room?"

"Yeah, thanks." Charlie nodded before moving past the woman, the small smile on her face not escaping the teen's attention.

The youngest Dixon was not in the common room, but the oldest one was. Charlie had yet to talk to him since seeing him again, not that she wanted to, but if anyone knew where Daryl was, it would be him.

"Where's your brother?" She asked the older man, catching his attention from where he'd had it trained on his arm contraption.

"Wouldn't you like to know, little lady." Merle chuckled and Charlie bit her lip, forcing a breath through her nose.

"I'm not in the mood to listen to you be a jackass right now, just tell me where he is." She snapped, looking him dead in the eyes as he raised his brows before nodding his head in the direction of the outside door.

Wasting no time, Charlie marches up to the door, only hesitating slightly before yanking it open and stepping into the sun. It wasn't hard to find the archer, he wasn't far, sitting with his back against the wall, eyes scanning everything in front of him.

Charlie didn't know what to say, she hadn't even let herself think about it before hunting him down so she just sat next to him, looking forward.

Neither spoke for a while, Daryl's eyes occasionally flickered over to her before snapping back in front of him.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was quiet, so quiet Daryl almost didn't hear it. But he did.

"Nah, ya got nothing to be sorry for." Daryl said, his voice louder than her but still quiet. "I do though."

"If you're waiting for me to argue that, don't." Charlie did feel the need to apologize but that didn't mean he shouldn't either. "What you did sucked. And I'm still mad. But Hershel said something last night. I realized it doesn't matter because you did come back. And I don't want to be angry anymore."

"Yeah," Daryl mumbled. "I'm an idiot."

"Oh yeah, no doubt about it." Charlie said immediately, chuckling when Daryl gave her an annoyed look. Yeah, she missed this.

"How's your hand?" He asked, gesturing the white bandage her hand now donned.

"You sent Hershel, didn't you?"

"Hmm," Daryl hummed, biting the inside of his lip. "The old man had a few words to say later." He mumbled, thinking to the night before when Hershel found him after checking on Charlie.

_"Her hand will be fine." Hershel assured the archer first off, trying to catch the younger man's eye. "Said she punched a wall and I have a pretty good idea why." Charlie was a good kid, Hershel thought. Distant but given time she's come around more. Still very guarded though, but the white-haired man knew she'd come to trust Daryl overall. The whole group loved her, thought of her as family as they all were. "That girl is like another daughter to me and you hurt her. Don't do it again."_

Daryl never thought of the farmer as threatening but the look he got in his eyes when he said those words. Well, it wasn't a very friendly one.

"Like what?" Charlie questioned, her brows furrowing in curiosity.

"Nothin'." He shrugged, guilt bubbling up when he thought about why Charlie was hurt. "He said ya punched a wall."

"Pretty sure everyone knows at this point." Charlie muttered to herself.

"I feel bad for the wall."

"You have too much faith in my punching abilities." Sure Charlie had thrown a few punches before but it had never been her strong suit. "So, I called Merle a jackass."

"Rightfully so." Daryl snorted. He wasn't an idiot, he knew how his brother was. But he also believed he had it in him to be better.

"Sorry, I know he's your brother." The teen mumbled.

"Yeah, but he's not the only family I got. I see that now." He divulged, voice quiet but strong, eyes meeting Charlie's as he pursed his lips.

"You know, I never had a real family, before all this." Gesturing out in front of her, Charlie thought carefully of her words. "I mean there were other kids I got homed with, but it never lasted. I've never known what it's like to have someone share your blood. I'm not saying that doesn't matter, but that's not what makes family. And for the first time in my life, I understand what does."

* * *

_"Please, he was just trying to help me." A small girl pleaded, trying not to cower as a large figure stomps towards her and the small child behind her. "Please."_

_"Get out of the way or you'll be punished too." The figure's rough voice said as he stood, towering over the girl._

_"Please jus-"_

_"I said move!" The man yelled, his booming voice ringing out as he lost all patience. Swinging out his hand, he knocks the girl to the side, revealing the child behind her._

_The girl feels heat as her skin splits open and blood drips down from her hairline. The picture frame that was once hanging on the wall lie now broken on the floor, peppering the floor with glass._

_The man was once again speaking, his loud voice sounding muffled to the girl's ears as she blinked her eyes, trying to focus her vision. "Stop." She called out weakly, her voice no more than a whisper._

_"Charlie!" The high pitched voice of the seven-year-old boy called out to the girl. He knew she would protect him._

_"Michael." The pre-teen weakly called, reaching out a hand to the boy as the burly man dragged him down the hall. "Please, don't hurt him."_

_"Shut up!" He called out, shooting the girl a glare as the young boy started fighting in his grasp. "Stop it!" Gripping the boy by his shoulders, the man stops in front of the stairs and shakes the child. "I said stop!"_

_As if he didn't hear the man's words, the little boy continues to pull against the painful grip on his arms as the dark-haired girl finds her footing. "Michael-" She called out a moment too late. Voice caught in her throat, Charlie watches in horror as the tiny seven-year-old boy stumbled backyards and out of sight._

_Everything froze. Or became slow motion. Charlie's muffled hearing became no hearing, her ears ringing as her heart beat heavily in her chest. She didn't believe her eyes. She couldn't. There's no way that just happened. But it only for a second, then everything was snapped back._

_The man started down the stairs as Charlie pulled herself down the hall. She didn't want to look. Didn't want to see the tiny child crumpled on the floor but she had to know. Had to see to know it really happened._

_Peeking around the corner, the girl wished she hadn't looked. The image would haunt her for the rest of her life. Michael, the sweet little boy she was supposed to protect, lying on the floor, unmoving. His eyes closed, face pale. He looked like he was sleeping. Charlie wouldn't have known otherwise if it wasn't for the growing pile of red seeping from under his light brown curls._

_"You!" The man suddenly yelled, his eyes snapped up to Charlie's. "This is your fault!"_

_"No." She mumbled even though she didn't believe that. He was right, this was her fault. "No, no, no." The girl repeated, falling back as the man started up the stairs._

_"Get back here!" He shouted as Charlie started crawling backyards, the pain in her hands as glass tore into them going unregistered._

_"It's your fault!"_

Waking with a start, Charlie gasps for breath before clasping a hand over her mouth, silencing the sobs that threatened to break free.

Replacing her hand with her teeth, the teen bites down hared and clenches her eyes shut tight, bringing her left hand over to squeeze her right as hard as she can. Letting the pain take over her senses, Charlie pulls in air through her nose and lets it out her mouth until her heartbeat slows.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault, It wasn't your fault, it's not your fault." The girl mumbled to herself over and over. "You're okay, you're okay." With one last deep breath, Charlie releases her hand, gritting her teeth as pain continued to flair through it.

Wiping away the tears that managed to escape, Charlie climbs out of bed and sneaks from her cell. She had no idea what time it was. Never did anymore. But it was late, everyone was sleep except those on watch. The prison was eerily quiet. Almost ominous.

The teen's legs carried her to and down the stairs without much thought. Most people chose cells on the lower level. Much to Charlie's confusion. She much preferred to be up high, it was safer.

Shaking off that thought, the girl continues into the common room, her heart jumping when she rounded the corner and a figure came into view.

"Mother of everything that is holy, what the hell Merle!?" Charlie whisper shouted, hand held over her chest where she could feel her heart's erratic beating. "Stop sneaking around." She mumbled to him as she walked closer, embarrassed by her reaction.

"I'm just sittin' here. You're the one sneakin'." Merle chuckled, regarding the girl as she sat across from him. She was different than when he saw her last. Taller, didn't look like a low breeze would knock her over. Less frightened of everyone around her. Sans a few moments ago.

"Don't deflect." Charlie retorted, the cold metal bench below her seeping through her thin pants, sending a shiver through her.

"What's got you up?" Merle asked seriously, raising a brow when Charlie furrowed hers.

"Nothing." She shrugged. "It's stupid."

"Stupid enough to keep you awake." Merle shot back with a smirk.

"What, are you a therapist now?" Charlie scoffed, her eyes narrowing at the man across from her.

"I could be." Merle spread his arms, Smirk still sitting easily on his lip. "What's bothering you, little lady?"

"Just a dream." The teen mumbled. She fought the urge to ask why he cared. She knew what he would say. Merle was a complicated person but Charlie's met her fair share of complicated people.

"Ahh," Merle hummed with a nod. "Good ol' nightmares. Plenty of fuel for them these days."

"It was of before." The words escaped Charlie before she could stop them but the girl didn't let it bother her, it didn't matter.

"Oh, yeah?" Maybe he was bored, curious, Charlie wasn't sure but was surprised that Merle didn't just dismiss her.

"Yeah. Plenty of fuel for them then too." The teen threw his own words back at him, sighing as she leaned against the table. "You know, Merle, you're not as big of an asshole as you want people to think."

"Is that so?" Interest peaked, Merle hid any emotion behind his signature smirk.

"I think...You're not really a bad person." The teen started. Maybe this was a waste of time, or maybe not. "You're haunted by your past, maybe you think you're beyond redemption, for lack of a better word. It feels like you're not worth anything so you have nothing to live up to."

Pausing, Charlie rolls her lip between her teeth before continuing. "You hide behind a wall of crassness and you act like you don't care. Because it's easier that way. I grew up around people who hid behind masks, hiding their insecurities and their fears. It made them hard. And the longer you wear the mask, the harder it is to to take it off, and after so long it becomes who you are. You don't want people to believe in you because then you can't disappoint them. That doesn't make you weak, it makes you human and I hate to break it to you, but that's what we are. You're still a good person, if you choose to be."

"Is that what you think?" Merle asks, his face blank, smirk long gone.

"Yeah, that's what I think." Charlie stated, her voice firm as she looked into Merle's eyes. "It's your choice. No one else's."

Silence consumed the two, Merle looking away from Charlie's gaze when he could no longer hold it. He wouldn't say it but her words meant something to him. "Head back to bed, gonna be a long next few days."

"Yeah." The teen muttered, pushing against the table as she stood, nightmare forgotten.

* * *

"Charlie, stash these at the loading dock." Glenn told the girl as he handed her a few boxes of ammo. Rick, Daryl, and Hershel had left earlier that morning to meet with the Governor. It didn't sit right with the teenager. She felt it stupid and most likely a waste of time. There's no way they just come to an agreement after everything that's happened.

"What we should be doin' is loading up some of this firepower in a truck and paying a visit to the Governor." Merle voiced. "We know where he is right now."

"You suggesting that we just go in and kill him?" Would make things easier, Charlie found herself thinking, shaking her head quickly to diminish the thought.

"Yeah, I am."

"We told Rick and Daryl that we'd stay put." Michonne started as Charlie decided to leave, taking the ammo where she was told too.

"You're a natural." Charlie commented with a small smile as she watched Beth rock Judith.

"So are you." The girl countered with a smile.

"No." The other teen chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, I love babies but I'm better with slightly older kids." Practice makes perfect or however that saying goes. Charlie has had a lot of experience dealing with younger children, not much with babies.

"Well, she likes you, I can tell." Beth hummed, carefully lowering Judith into her crib. "You're worried." It wasn't a question, the blonde teen stated it like a fact.

"I know it's pointless." Charlie didn't deny it. She was always worried.

"Maybe they'll figure something out." Beth suggested weakly as she sat next to her friend.

"They won't." Charlie mumbled. "Oh, what now?" She questioned, the teens jumping to their feet and rushing to the common room as shouting reached their ears.

Coming to a stop in the doorway, both girls freeze as they watch Maggie pulling Merle off Glenn from his neck as Michonne tried to help separate them. Charlie was trying to figure out what to do but before she could, a loud bang rang out and her head snapped to Beth. The older teenager had a smoking gun in her hand, pointing it to the ceiling before dropping it to her side.

As surprising as that was, it worked. The 'adults' stopped fighting when a high pitched cry rang out. "Judith." Charlie sighed, turning to go comfort the baby, soon followed by Beth.

"She likes to be sung to." Beth put in softly as Charlie softly bounced the baby.

"To bad I don't sing." The teen mumbled, ignoring Beth's raised brow. "I don't like lullabies, they creep me out."

Chuckling softly, Beth encouraged the dark hair teen to sit next to her. "Doesn't have to be a lullaby. Just pick a song, if I know it I'll join."

"When did I walk into a chick flick?" Charlie groaned but Beth wasn't deterred by her attitude and only chuckled again. "Fine, just don't laugh, okay?"

"I won't." Beth promised as Charlie steeled herself, pulling a song from memory. She'd sung to children before when they couldn't sleep. Her voice wasn't bad but she's never been comfortable singing for anyone who wasn't a child.

"Might not be baby appropriate, I don't know." She shrugged, giving one last-ditch effort to get out of this.

"I don't think she'll mind."

"Okay." Charlie took a deep breath through her nose and slowly exhaled from her mouth.

"_And I know I've been closing myself off unsure_," Smiling a soft smile, Beth rest her hand on Judith's back as Charlie's voice flowed around them.

_"I know I've been real hard to reach, harder to love."_

_"And I knot it's tiring, it's getting old"_

_"So please just hold on to me"_

_"I've slayed these demons they're old to me"_

_"Recurring dreams this is happening"_

_"Tearing my seams; lucid reality"_

_"And I just want you to feel love"_

_"Before it disappears."_

_"Cause we are more than we're not"_

_"So never fear to feel"_

_"Good when everything's wrong"_

_"And find some beauty there"_

_"Cause all we ever are is brave"_

_"And your world's not ending, ooh"_

_"So I won't go"_

_"I'm still living in the middle of a one-way war"_

_"I can't fight it but I'm trying to be what you want"_

_"You can't sing but you're singing this anyway"_

_"And anyway, so please just hold on to me"_

_"This is no end, we're not finished here"_

_"Finding our way, we're just changing"_

_"Becoming more than I think of me, yeah"_

_"These fears in my head, dreams in my bed"_

_"They won't get the best of me, yeah"_

_"'Cause I chase dreams 'til the end"_

_"These nightmares all bend"_

_"Silver linings are all I need"_

_"So, please, just hold on to me"_

"I didn't take you for a liar." Beth mumbled quietly, aware of the now sleeping baby.

"What?" Charlie asked, confused.

"You said you didn't sing." The blonde teen reminded her, feigning offense.

"Yeah, well, I haven't in a while." Charlie whispered, moving to put Judith in her crib.

"You should more." Beth encouraged. She loved singing, it made her feel better. "And you need to teach me that song."

"Okay." Charlie chuckled, shaking her head with an honest smile. "Maybe."

* * *

**Like I said, it's a little cheesy but I like the idea of Charlie singing, sooooo. And the song is Eden Love; not wrong. And it's totaly fine if you skipped over the lyrics. I'd do the same. Probably.**

**Charlie apologized to Daryl even if she didn't need too. She's still a little angry but she missed her unofficial big bro so shes sucking it up. And uh, her and Merle had a little heart to heart I guess you could call it.  
**

**Also, Beth and Charlie being friends is great. **

**Thanks for reading! I know I don't need to keep saying it, but I love getting your guy's reviews so, if you wanna leave one ;)**

**The next chapter probably won't be up tomorrow. I'm in a spot where I'm trying to figure something out and I don't want to change my mind after I post something so. I'll try to hurry.**

**I think that's all I have to say for now. Until next time friends.**

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'-'

* * *

**Some craps going on with the chapters and I don't know how to fix it so. Might be awhile before I can post more. If you can see the next one and it's not edited that's just some ideas I had written and accidently posted. I tried to delete it and now everything is screwed. **


	10. Our Own Choices

**I pushed the wrong thing and posted the wrong thing for the chapter for a few minutes there, if you saw that kindly ignore it, please.**

**I don't think I'm going to change this so I might as well post it. I mean, why break my streak, right? Anyway, I know it's stupid to say this before a chapter but I wasn't super proud of this one. But I'm excited and hopeful for the ones to follow.**

**Thanks for the reviews last chapter! Many spelling errors were pointed out. I thank you for that, I didn't read through it before posting like an idiot. I got a lot but probably not all. But I appreciate the help.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter anyway, even for all its faults. Or mine? Ehh, same thing. **

**Words: 3,131?**

* * *

The others were back. Everyone had gathered in the cell block to listen as Rick spoke. He didn't say much, but his last words still rang out in the group's minds.

_"We're going to war."_

Charlie had to clear her head. She hadn't expected anything less but that didn't mean she was prepared for it. So the teen found herself walking outside the prison. She hadn't planned on going far, choosing to hug the hard, cold, concrete walls but when she heard voices, she froze.

She knew she shouldn't listen, it was none of her business but she couldn't help it.

"A way out." That was Rick, his voice was quiet but the teen leaned forward, straining her ears.

"What does he want." And Hershel.

"Michonne." She should have been surprised, Charlie reasoned, but she wasn't. And if Rick hadn't told the group earlier then...

"He'll kill her."

"And then kill us anyway." Rick agreed but the curious teen didn't yet release the breath she was holding. "But what if he doesn't? What if this is the answer?" It's not, Charlie wanted to shout at him bet held her ground.

"Why didn't you tell them?" Hershel asked, his voice a mask of calmness.

"They need, to be scared."

"They are."

"Good. 'Cause that's the only way they'll accept it." Charlie wanted to laugh at that, she sure as hell wouldn't except this decision no matter how scared she was. Michonne was one of them now, they couldn't just hand her over to the enemy.

"She's earned her place." Hershel argued, for which Charlie was relieved. If anyone could talk sense into Rick, it would be the old farmer.

"Yeah, she has." There was silence for a minute and when the teen was about to leave, Rick spoke up again. "Are you willing to sacrifice your daughters' lives for her?" Charlie suddenly had the urge to punch something again, only this time it wasn't a wall but a specific persons face.

"Why are you telling me?"

"Because...I'm hoping you can talk me out of it." Yeah, me too, Charlie thought. With a shake of her head, Charlie pushed off the wall she was leaning against, and walked back into the prison.

* * *

"Over here!" Carl and Maggie's voices rang out along with the sound of clanging. All the walkers in the once clear field followed the noice and crashed against the fence, allowing Daryl, Michonne, and Glenn to place down traps.

Standing, waiting, next to the gate, Charlie turned her head when she heard footsteps to see Rick. Annoyance flared inside her as she thought to what he was planning on doing. Eyes snapping back to the truck as it drove up, Charlie pulled the gate open and let them in before closing it.

"They try to drive up to the gate again, maybe some blown tires will stop them." Glenn informed Rick as the girl approached them.

"That's a good idea." The man agreed and at his words, Charlie couldn't stop her next ones.

"Yeah, it was Michonne's." Meeting his eyes head-on, Charlie cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowed. She was pretty sure she just outed herself, if the look on Rick's face and the glance he shared with Daryl was anything to go by.

"We don't have to win." The women herself stated. "We just have to make their getting at us more trouble than it's worth.

"Let's go." Rick mumbled as Maggie and Carl joined, guiding everyone back inside.

"Hey." Charlie whispered, tapping Rick's arm and nodding off to the side when he looked to her. With a glance back towards the retreating group, Rick nods and follows the teen. She knew he knew that she knew. Might as well say something, even if it wouldn't change his mind.

"Charlie-" Rick started in a quiet voice but the girl wasn't having it.

"He's just going to kill her then come kill all of us." She told him, keeping her own voice quiet but firm. "You know that. You'd just be making it easier for him."

"It's not that sim-" Rick tried to explain, his own words sounding weak even to himself.

"Don't you dare tell me it's not that simple because it is simple." Charlie cut him off again and a fleeting image of when they first met popped into the girl's mind. She wouldn't have thought she could ever talk to him like this then. "And even if it wasn't, if he did stay true to his word, it's just not right. It's not us."

Sighing, Rick ran a tired hand over his face, avoiding the girl's gaze. He couldn't look into her grey eyes, they made him feel all the more guilty. "Daryl said something similar." He mumbled, remembering the hunter's words.

"Yeah, well he's not an idiot." Charlie said, hiding how relieved she felt that Daryl didn't want to do this either. "Which is what you're being right now."

"Sometimes-" The teen started again after a moment of silence. "You always have a choice, Rick. And sometimes there's just no right choice. But not this time. This time there is a right and there is a wrong. It's not hard to see which is which."

* * *

Charlie once again found herself in the tunnels. She wasn't sure why, the tunnels weren't her favorite place to be. The teens legs carried her away without much thought and into the tunnels. A weird feeling took over when she realized where she was walking. It was odd.

She thought about shaking it off, ignoring the tingling that shot through her back and up her neck. She even turned around at one point but her heart made a weird sinking feeling until she turned back.

The tunnels were like a maze if you didn't know them. And Charlie didn't. Not very well. Better than someone who had never been in them but still not well. That didn't seem to be a problem at the moment. It's like her body knew where to go and was leading her there.

Echos flowed throughout the concrete walls, some more distance, others closer. It was then that Charlie turned a corner, light leaking out from a room at the end of the hall, a shuffling sound following.

Somehow Charlie knew who was there, knew what she'd see. It didn't make her feel any better about it though.

"Shit, kid, you scared me." Merle said with a forced chuckle. "Guess we're even now, huh?"

"You can't do this." Charlie shook her head, ignoring the man's words as her eyes strayed to Michonne's unconscious figure.

"Rick don't got what it takes, he'll chicken out." Merle said, any attempts at acting casual gone.

"Because it's not right." The teen argued. "And it won't make a difference."

"You just know everything, don't ya, little lady?"

"I know this is wrong. I know why you're doing it." She said, her eyes boring into his. "And it's not the way. I meant what I said the other night, you can be better but you have to make that choice."

"You got too much faith in me, kid." Merle sighed, his eyes moving to Michonne when the woman groaned, her head falling to the side where it was prompt against the wall. "Chat times over, get out of here."

"I can't do that." Charlie met his eyes again, moving in front of Michonne when he stepped forward. She couldn't do anything to stop him, she knew it but how could she just leave? Maybe she could run and find Rick or Daryl before Merle got away, they could stop him. Deep down she knew that was the best move but her brain kept that thought from her, not allowing her to move. "You want to be apart of this group, be with Daryl. Well you can, you are, but not if you do this. It'll only end one way."

"You know I'm right." Charlie stated, her eyes glued to Merle's as his tongue ran across his bottom lip.

Merle wasn't going to listen to her, he had just planned to let her say what she needed then somehow make his exit. But he'd be lying if he said her words weren't compelling. He had already thought most of them himself though. It wasn't her words but the way she stood up to him. Seeing her stand up for what she believed. The determination in her eyes. That's what changed his mind.

"You got balls kid, I knew there was a reason I liked you." Merle's raspy voice sounded through the room. Backing off, the oldest Dixon leaned against the table behind him, holding his hands up in surrender.

Letting out the breath she was holding, Charlie turned away and bent next to Michonne as the woman continued to wake up. Both conscious people in the room heard the rushed footsteps approaching but neither moved as Daryl and Rick ran into the room.

"What's the rush, baby brother?" Merle asked, his cocky attitude back full force.

"The hell, man?" Daryl questioned, throwing out his arm.

"I think she's okay." Charlie mumbled to Rick as he knelt on the other side of Michonne.

"What can I say, the little lady's got a way with words." Merle was saying when Charlie turned to the brothers, the teen having missed any previous words.

Figuring the others had it from here, Charlie sighed and walked from the room. "Hey," A voice had the teen stopping in her tracks, head swiveling around to see Daryl. "You good?"

"I'm fine."

* * *

Rick ended up telling everyone about the deal. He essentially stepped down as leader. Said that it shouldn't be up to him. Everyone needed to have a say in what happened.

"You okay, bud?" Charlie asked Carl softly, shifting her bag over her shoulder as she leaned against the entrance of his cell. "Come on, let's go." The teen held out her hand, nodding to the exit when the boy didn't answer her.

He was angry, angrier than she'd ever seen him. But she understood, he wanted to help protect his home. "Carl." Rick tried, reaching out for his son only to be shrugged off.

"He'll come around." Charlie told the man with an apologetic look before joining the others in putting everything into the trunk of their car.

"He's upset." Beth observed as Carl stomped off.

"Yeah, he is." Charlie sighed, shaking her head before she helped the blonde girl finish packing everything up.

"You know, I can drive if you want me too." Charlie offered to Hershel as they made their way around the car. "I'm not half bad."

"Really?" Hershel asked with a chuckle.

"I've had a little practice." If joyriding your friend's sister's boyfriend's car counts, Charlie thought but kept those words to herself. She thought about bringing up the time she drove the truck the last time the Governor attacked but decided it wasn't the best time.

"How about on the way back?" The older man suggested with a smile.

"Sure." Charlie nodded before making her way around the car, her eyes catching Daryl's before she climbed into the passenger seat.

The drive away from the prison was a quiet one. That kind of uncomfortable silence that feels like it eats away at you. The teenager couldn't have gotten out of the car faster when it stopped.

Hershel watched Judith while Beth, Carl, and Charlie found stuff to help camouflage the car, making it less likely someone would find them. Then, they waited.

It felt like forever until the distant sounds of gunfire reached their ears. Charlie and Carl stood more rigid than the others, guns drawn and ready to be used. Charlie just hoped they wouldn't need to be.

But alas, hoping doesn't really change anything, does it? "Woah, woah, woah, don't shoot." The boy said, holding up the hand that wasn't wrapped around his rifle.

"Drop the weapon, son." Hershel said, pointing his own gun at the boy.

"Sure," He mumbled, his eyes flickering between them all as he slowly inched forward. "Here, take it."

Slowly lowering her gun, Charlie's foot didn't even get the chance to hit the ground in a full step before the boy dropped, fresh bullet wound to his head dripping blood.

Everything seemed to go deathly silent. Charlie's eyes were glued to the boy, he couldn't have been more than seventeen, maybe eighteen.

"Carl." She whispered, finally tearing her eyes away from the dead kid. "Put the gun down." She kept her voice calm, slowly pushing Carl's arm down when he didn't move it.

"Get in the car."

"But-"

"I said," Charlie cut him off, her straining to keep her voice lowered. "Get in the care." She ground out through gritted teeth, watching as the boy stomped away, slamming the car door behind him.

As Carl fumed inside the car, Beth and Charlie moved the biggest sticks and limbs away before climbing into it. Charlie once again took the passenger seat, all ideas of driving gone from her mind.

"I'm coming to Woodburry." Carl said to his father as they filled into the common room.

"Carl-"

"Dad, I did my job out there. Just like all of you. Took out one of the Governor's soldiers."

"One of his soldiers?" Hershel questioned. "A kid running away? He stumbled across us."

"No, he drew on us." Carl argued.

"I'm sorry you had to do that." Rick told his son as Charlie tried to get rid of the sick feeling in her stomach.

"It's what I was there for. I'm going with you." The boy stated before walking off, leaving Rick with Hershel and Charlie.

"That kid was scared. He was handing his gun over."

"He said he drew. Carl said it was in defense." Rick said, desperation leaking into his voice.

"I was there, he didn't have to shoot." Hershel argued, he didn't mean to be harsh but Rick needed to know. "He had every reason not to-"

"Maybe it looked like it to you-"

"Rick!" Hershel shouted, cutting the man off.

"He didn't even blink." Charlie continued for Hershel when he didn't. She hated this just as much as they did but it needed to be talked about. "That kid was handing over his gun and Carl just shot him."

"We're telling you Rick, he gunned that boy down." With those final words, Hershel left, leaving Charlie to follow after him.

"Everything good?" Eyes squinted, Charlie shakes her head at the question as she watches Rick talk to Carl.

"He killed someone." She mumbled in reply.

"Carl?" Daryl asked, his own eyes narrowing at the move.

"Yeah." Charlie whispered. "He was just a kid. He was handing his gun over."

"You gonna be okay?" Daryl questioned after a moment, his eyes switching from Carl to Charlie.

"It's not me I'm worried about." The girl mumble with a tired sigh.

"We gotta go after 'em."

"I know." Charlie nodded as she rubbed a hand over her eyes. "I just want this to be over."

"It will be."

"What's the hold-up, little brother?" Merle's voice sounded from a few feet away.

"Gotta go." Daryl said, tapping Charlie's shoulder when she still didn't look at him, snapping her from her thoughts. "Ya here me?"

"Huh?"

"Said I gotta go." Daryl repeated, nodding his head towards the others.

"Oh yeah." Charlie mumbled, shaking her head, bringing herself back to the present. "Be safe, yeah?"

"Yup." Daryl nodded, taking a step away before pausing, chewing his lower lip. "Hey,"

Turning, Charlie looks up at Daryl, waiting for him to continue only for him to remain silent. It confused her for a moment but something in his eyes made the girl nod. "I know." Nodding his own head, Daryl turned and continued towards the others.

Charlie didn't sleep that night. She didn't know when to expect the others back. She had hoped they would have been already. No one else really slept either. Beth fell asleep after Judith, Hershel followed not long after. Glenn and Maggie stayed up, keeping watch for the others. Carl refused to sleep so Charlie took to watching him. Not that she let him know that's what she was doing.

She struggled with the decision to talk to him about what happened but in the end, realized that wasn't what he needed. So, she stayed with him and didn't say anything. Neither did he.

When dawn arrived so did the others. But they weren't alone. A bus full of people arrived with them. Everyone who was left from Woodburry. Most of them were older people, a few children and middle-aged adults. Charlie wasn't sure what to make of it. She didn't disagree but it felt weird, having so many new people around. Especially from their enemy town. But she knew it wasn't on them. It was the Governor who put things into their heads.

"Took you guys long enough." Charlie mumbled jokingly to the Dixon brothers as they watched everyone unload from the bus.

"Patience, little lady." Merle chuckled before walking away to who knows where.

"D'you sleep?"

"Huh?" Charlie asked Daryl for the second time, turning to look up at him with furrowed brows.

"The bags under your eyes have bags." He told her, shifting on his feet.

"Didn't know you cared." She joked. The teen wasn't sure why she was in a joking mood. Maybe because the Governor was gone, things might start looking up from here. She just knew she didn't feel like everything was about to come crumbling down.

"Shut up." Daryl mumbled with an eye roll. Or was that an eye roll? Charlie wasn't sure, she was really tired after all.

"Thanks." Charlie said quietly, the whispered word almost going missed by the archer.

"For what?"

"Just..." The teen trailed off with a shrug, seeing Daryl nodding from the corner of her eye.

"You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

* * *

**Sorry the whole battle/fight whatever was a little anticlimactic. It's wasn't my main focus. I'm super excited for the stuff coming up though, hope you guys are to. I'd love to hear your theories or thoughts.**

**So yeah, I wanted Merle to live. That's something I was struggling with but then I decided, screw it, this is what I'm gonna do. And redeemable Merle is great. Sorry if you don't like that bit. And maybe it wasn't super realistic but I didn't see a better way. (I'm also an insecure little shit so if anyone wants to let me know this didn't suck)**

**I don't really like the ending to this chapter but it's not a big deal. There's a lot more coming. I didn't mean for that to sound so ominous. Or did it? I don't know. I'm tired.  
**

**See you soon, friends.**

* * *

'-'


	11. Inevitable

**I fudged up when I posted the last chapter. I hate myself. Oh, well. It's fixed now (I think) But if you saw it before it was, kindly pretend like you didn't.**

**Not sure how you guys liked the last one, but thanks for reading those who did. I really hoped you liked it, I was nervous no one would like how I made Merle live but it's important for future plot.**

**I also had sugar before writing part of this so...yeah.**

**Words: 5,167? Oops**

* * *

Sometimes it's hard to remember. What the world like was before. You get so caught up in surviving, it's the only thing there is. It consumes your being, it becomes who you are. And after so long, it's a hard habit to break. But sometimes it's easy to forget what it is now.

There's a moment. They're rare, but they happen. Something of the old world pushes its way past the nightmare that is today. It's nice but just as much as it is dangerous. Forgetting that there are monsters lurking around the corner anytime. Both walker and human.

A deep breath in, string pulled back, arrow drawn. Rabbits, cute animals. Herbivores. Prey.

A slow breath out, the thin fiberglass arrow flying through the air before hitting its mark. Rabbits. They really are cute.

"Nice shot."

Spinning around, hand over her heart, Charlie stares wide-eyed at Daryl. "How long have you been there?"

"Hm." The archer shrugged, watching his surroundings as the teen retrieved her kill, along with her arrow.

"When you'd get back?" She asked, lifting the arrow into the quiver resting on her back.

"Just now." Daryl mumbled as she joined his side. "You weren't there, asked around. You weren't hard to find."

"Well, I wasn't exactly focused on covering my tracks as much as tracking his." Charlie defended, lifting the dead rabbit up and gesturing towards him. She wasn't the best tracker, she'd reluctantly admit she'd been tracking this one animal for way to long. But hey, she got it. "I don't like being in there for so long. Get's hard to breath."

"Yeah." He agreed, of course he did. He felt the same. The fences and the tall, cold, concrete walls, it was suffocating.

"Is that why you keep leaving?" Charlie asked, looking down at her feet, unintentional bitterness seeping into her words.

"We have to find him." Daryl argued. He didn't enjoy leaving, not the prison, not Charlie, but he had too. He had to find the Governor.

"Why you? As much as I enjoy Merle's company." Said sarcastically. "And Michonne's. They have it handled."

"I don't like you out here by yourself." He grumbled, changing the subject. He'd had this argument with her before, he didn't want to have it again. Especially not right after getting back.

"I know." Charlie mumbled, dragging her feet more than necessary. "If you were here, you could come with me. Then I wouldn't be." Coming to a step as the edge of the forest, Charlie sets her things down and removes the strap from over her shoulder.

"Don't gotta wear that." Daryl once again ignored her comments on him staying, instead motioning to the long-sleeved, button-up she was untying from around her waist.

"Yeah, I know." The teen sighed, slipping the thin fabric over her arms. "It's just all the new people. Feels weird."

Chewing his lip, Daryl nodded as he watched Charlie pick up all of her things. "Maybe I'll stick around for a while this time." He decided, hating the hopefull look Charlie got in her eyes at the same time he didn't.

"Really?"

"Yeah, might as well." He shrugged, his eyes watching the walkers gathered around the fence.

"I came out through the tombs." Charlie informed before picking up her feet and walking once more. "I take it you guys didn't find anything?" The teen asked once the reached the prison.

"Nah." Daryl mumbled disappointedly. "They want to head out again soon, though."

"As in a few days or a few hours?" Charlie questioned, her voice echoing off the walls. As much as she pretended to be annoyed by Merle, she actually liked the guy. And Michonne was just plain awesome.

"Not sure." The hunter admitted. "Gonna talk to Rick first, decide then I guess."

"Alright." The smaller hunter nodded. "Don't let them run off before I say hey though."

"Will do." Daryl said as they reached their cell block.

"Hey, Carol." Charlie greeted the woman, handing over the rabbit before rushing off to her cell. She still carried her gun and a knife with her, even inside the walls but the bow and anything else extra she decided to take out with her was too much so she left them in her room.

It was more of a room than a cell. Or it was starting to be. There was an old blanket serving as a curtain over the door, there were a few things scattered around trying to brighten up the place. Some books as well. More art supplies Michonne had brought for her when she learned of the teen's love for drawing.

Speaking of, Charlie thought as she reached for her sketchbook, pulling out the finished drawing. It wasn't super detailed, she hadn't had much time to work with. The teen had been practicing her facial features, they were difficult to draw but they were getting better. This time Charlie just put a hood, obscuring the woman's face as she held a sword. It wasn't much but it was her way of thanking Michonne.

After carefully folding the paper and slipping it into her pocket, Charlie runs from her room, through the common room and outside. It felt different, having so many other people around. A council had formed and it was decided to bring in more people if we found them and didn't deem them a threat. They were cleaning the outside and planning to build smaller buildings. Hershel and Rick had started planting food. Everything was coming together.

"Where's the fire?" Michonne asked with a smile as Charlie slowed to a stop.

"I wanted to see you before you went running off again." Charlie told her, regretting her choice of words as soon as she said them. "You're not running off," She quickly backtracked. "I know, I know. Bad choice of words. Anyway."

Taking the offered paper with a raised brow, Michonne carefully unfolded it, chuckling as she took in the drawing. "You got my good side." She told the girl. "You make me look like a badass."

"Please, you are a badass." Charlie smiled.

"I got you something too." Michonne said, slipping the picture into her pocket and pulling something else out. "Reminded me of you."

Reaching out a hand, Charlie takes the silver chain from the older woman. "Awesome." She mumbled, her thumb running over the silver wolf at the end of the necklace. "Thanks."

"Mhm." Michone hummed, turning as the two started to walk.

"How long are you staying this time?"

"Not long." The samurai sighed. "Probably head out tomorrow."

"Carl won't be happy." Charlie wasn't the only one who'd taken a liking to the woman, the young boy looked up to her as well.

"I know." Michonne drawled out, her voice heavy. "He almost as bad as you."

"Hey!" Charlie shouted, offended as Michonne chuckled. "Jerk."

"Punk."

"Hey, now, calm down ladies." Merle said as he approached the two. "Can't have my two favorite girls against each other, now can I?" Pausing next to each other, Charlie and Michonne both raised an eyebrow at the eldest Dixon brother. "Well, good to see you too." He mumbled, the words directed towards Charlie.

"Wish I could say the same." The girl said, breaking out into a laugh at Merle's purely offended face, Michonne following soon after.

"What's the joke?" Daryl asked, seemingly to appear out of nowhere.

"Merle." Michonne told him, small laughs still escaping her lips.

"They're ganging up on me, little brother." The man said, looking between all of them.

"Yeah." Daryl scoffed. "Maggie's looking for you."

"She say why?" Charlie asked, squinting her eyes up at him.

"No. She was heading down to tower three though."

"Okay." The teen sighed. "Don't leave before saying bye, yeah?"

* * *

"I don't know how you do it." Beth said. "I mean, I get it, but I dont think I could."

"No, you could." Charlie told the girl. "It's different in the moment. Maybe you could come out sometime."

"With you and Daryl?" Beth questioned, moving her eyes from Judith to Charlie.

"Yeah, hunting can be relaxing. I mean, I don't enjoy killing fluffy little animals, it's the quiet I like." The dark-haired teen nodded. "And Daryl's a pretty good teacher."

"I'm not as strong as you."

Huffing a barely amused laugh, Charlie shook her head. "I'm not as strong as I act."

"I don't think so." Beth disagreed. "You're strong. You are."

"So are you." Charlie smiled. "More so than you think."

"Alright, I don't know how we got into this serious conversation but I say we stop." Charlie said with a laugh.

"We could sing." Beth chuckled, laughing harder when Charlie scrunched up her face. "Okay, got any good stories?"

"I'm sure I could think of a few." Charlie shrugged, already digging through her mind.

"Well, gonna be here for a little while." Beth gestured to the baby nursing a bottle in her lap.

"We talking PG stories or...?" Charlie trailed off and the teens shared a laugh. "Okay, okay. I got one. I was thirteen. Um, I was living in this crappy neighborhood and it was late. Anyway, a few days before I had met these kids. Not the most well-behaved group, mind you."

Huffing another laugh, Charlie ran her fingers over an uneven patch of skin on her wrist. "There was this bowling alley a few miles away. We walked there. I don't even know how we managed it, I think one of the boys picked the lock but the next thing I knew we're all sneaking inside."

Beth raised a brow at the girl, smiling as Charlie laughed again. "We didn't mean any harm. Not much anyway. We just hoped to play around for free. I don't even know why such a tiny and not very classy place had security. We were excited, we got cocky, therefore we got caught."

Shaking her head, the dark-haired teen laughed once more at the memory of the other kid's shocked faces. "Everyone freaked when the guy pointed his flashlight at us, yelled at us. One second we were having fun, the next it was every man for himself."

"We all ran for the door as the guy started chasing us, we spilled out of there like the place was on fire. We split into smaller groups. It wasn't planned, it just happened. Me and two others darted for some fence, thinking he wouldn't bother to chase us over it. He didn't but we were still stupid. The top of it had barbs on it. We still made it over but not without gaining a few battle wounds." Charlie mumbled, amused by her own choice of words.

"Sounds scary." Beth said as her own laughs died down.

"No," Charlie shook her head, a far off look in her eyes. "It was one of the greatest nights of my life."

"Not sure what that says about me, but I'd do it again."

"Did you get in trouble?" Best questioned curiously, rocking the baby in her arms to get her to sleep.

"Nah, no one cared enough to do anything." Charlie hadn't meant to say it, the words just pushed past her lips before she could stop them.

"What's going on?" Glenn asked as he entered the room, Maggie by his side, followed by Rick and Carl.

"Charlie's just telling me about the time she went out breaking and entering." Beth joked, laughing when the teen shot her a glare.

"Okay, first of all," She spoke out loudly before anyone else could. "Traitor." She pointed to Beth, only causing the girl to chuckle more. "Second, we didn't break anything, so technically we just entered."

A few more chuckles rang out across the room as everyone settled in. "I didn't know you were a criminal." Carl called out to his big sister, a smile on his face.

"Not a crime if you don't get caught." The girl shrugged. "And I didn't."

"You just admitted it to a cop, so." Rick joined in, laughing when Charlie cursed under her breath.

"Whatever."

* * *

"Heading out, little lady."

Looking up at the sound of Merle's voice, Charlie nods. "You guys be careful."

"Don't sound so worried, I might start to think you care." The man said, earning an eye-roll from Michonne.

"Pft, about you?" The teen joked, much to Michonne's amusement.

"Whatever." He waved the girl off. "See you late, short stack."

"I'm not that short." Charlie called after him. "Whatever. Be careful, okay?"

"Always." Michonne said, holding up her fist to the girl and smiling when she bumped in with her own.

Watching them go, Charlie sighs as she hugs her knees to her chest. She understood what they were doing, she'd be lying if she said she never worried that the Governor would come back one day.

A clanging sound snapped the teen from her thoughts, her head snapping around to see someone had dropped a tin bucket onto the ground. "Hey,"

"Dude!" Charlie whisper shouted at Daryl, her head once again snapping around to face him. She'd get whiplash if she kept this up. "Stop sneaking around."

Raising a brow, the archer gave the girl a look. "I was gonna ask you to go on a run but now-"

"What? I'm fine, let's go." Charlie cut him off, jumping to her feet to stand in front of him. He let her come on runs a lot but lately it seems all he wants her to do is stay inside the prison. Not that she's been listening to him. "Who's going?"

"Glenn 'n Maggie."

"Small group." Charlie commented as they walked. She was actually relieved it was only people from the original group. Trust didn't come easy. "Leaving now?"

"You ready?" Daryl questions, causing Charlie to look down at herself and take stock of the weapons she was carrying.

"Yup." She responded with a sharp nod.

"Then yeah, we're leaving now." Continuing their short walk, the two soon met up with the others by a car.

"Where are we going?" Charlie asked once she realized she didn't know.

"There's a town." Glenn answered. "It's a little ways out but off the grid enough we're hoping it hasn't been picked clean."

"Sounds good. I needed some air." Charlie said mostly to herself as she walked around the car.

"You went out yesterday." Maggie pointed out with a chuckle.

"I fail to see your point." The teen said seriously, her brows furrowed. "Shotgun." She called before climbing into the passenger seat.

"I can't believe you broke into a bowling alley." Glenn broke the silence a few minutes into the ride, leaning forward in his seat to look at the teenager.

"Huh?" Daryl asked before Charlie could defend herself.

"Oh, did I never tell you about that?" The girl asked even though she knew she hadn't. "Anyway, as I said before, we didn't break in, nothing was broken, we just entered."

"I think it's still considered breaking and entering even if nothings broken." Maggie put in with a smile.

"Don't judge. I'm a teenager, I do stupid things." Charlie shrugged. "It's not my fault they had shitty locks."

Little conversation made it past Glenn and Maggie for the rest of the ride. It was long but not too bad. Charlie actually enjoyed the ride but soon found herself climbing out of the car, stretching as she took in her surroundings.

"Stay close." Daryl said as the small group started moving forward, his crossbow held in front of him.

"Seems quiet." Maggie commented, her gun held at her side.

"Yeah." Glenn agreed as the group came up to a small convenience store.

"You think it's okay to split for a few?" Maggie asked, her eyes catching something a few yards down. "You two clear this, I'll take Charlie with me."

Daryl and Glenn spun around, looking in every direction as they assessed the danger of their surroundings. Charlie gave Maggie a raised eyebrow at the woman's question, only earning her a smile in return to which she shrugged at, not questioning it any further.

"Eh, don't go far." Daryl finally grumbled. He didn't like the idea of them splitting up. Not that he didn't think either girl could handle themself, he just worried for the people he cared about.

"Alright, meet back in a bit, we'll just be down there." Maggie said before all but dragging Charlie away.

"Not that I don't love spending time with you, really, but where are we going?" Looking for supplies was the obvious answer, she knew that, but something about the smile on Maggie's face made the teen think there was more to it.

"Here." Maggie answered, coming to an abrupt halt outside an even smaller store.

"A clothing store?" Charlie asked after reading the sign. It wasn't strang, they were always in need of more clothing. It was the way Maggie was acting that was weird. "I don't get it."

"I know it's stupid." Maggie sighed. "It doesn't matter anymore but I am in desperate need for something fun. I always loved clothes shopping. Now it's just apocalypse styles."

Snorting at that, Charlie shook her head with a smile. "I never really went shopping, especially for clothes."

"You mean you never broke into a clothing store?" Maggie teased.

"That was-doesn't matter." Charlie sighed. She never should have told anyone about that. "Have _you_?" The teen asked suddenly, raising a brow at the woman in front of her.

"That's not important." Maggie dodged the question, turning her eyes away to look at the door. "Right now I just want to take you clothes shopping. Or clothes taking. Whatever it's called these days."

"Fine. First, we gotta make sure it's clear." Charlie agreed as she knocked loudly on the glass door.

"If ones in there, it's not moving around much." Maggie commented after a few minutes of waiting.

"Yeah, let's go." Head grabbing the once golden doorknob, Charlie goes to twist, stopping when she meets resistance. "It's locked."

"You can't pick it?" Maggie teased once more, chuckling when the teen rolled her eyes.

"That wasn't even me." She informed the woman as she pulled out her knife. Wedging in between the lock and door frame, Charlie put all her weight into it until the door broke open. It wasn't a very sturdy door. "I grant you entrance." The teen mumbled, switching form her knife to her gun.

Falling back into silence, both women file into the room, guns raised. It didn't take long, the store wasn't very large and they soon found themselves standing in the middle, posture relaxed once more.

"This isn't very productive." Charlie mumbled as Maggie started sorting through the clothing. "And possibly dangerous."

"You can't always focus on that." Maggie told her, voice serious. "You need to stop just surviving sometimes."

"I guess." Charlie mumbled, unsure. Sure her whole life hadn't been running from reanimated corpses and she had good moments, times in her life she could look back on and smile but it had always been about surviving to her in the end. It felt weird to just not do it.

"What do you think?" Maggie's voice snapped Charlie back to the present and over to the women, her brows furrowing when she saw the shirt that was being held up.

"You're not serious, right?" The teen asked, eyes scanning the slightly faded shirt. "It looks like Judith ate a box of crayons then threw up on it."

"Wow," Maggie chuckled. "That was very imaginative. But no, I'm not serious."

"Good, I would've worried for you." Charlie said, grabbing the shirt from Maggie and throwing it to the floor.

Charlie decided while she was there, she might as well pick up a few things. You never know when you'll get the chance to gather somewhat new clothing. "Think they have baby stuff?"

"Probably not. Couldn't hurt to look though."

"Yeah." Holstering her gun, Charlie shook out her hands and tried to focus on looking at the clothes rather than over her shoulder. "I don't see the appeal." The teen called out after a few minutes.

"Alright," Maggie smiled as the approached the girl. "Let's see." Mumbled to herself, the young woman looked through the clothing, ignoring the impractical things. "Come here."

"Yes, ma'am." Charlie mumbled, following Maggie to another clothes rack, pausing when the woman turned to her. "What are you doing?"

"Just looking." Maggie said as she held a few shirts up to help see what they'd look like on the girl. Not that it mattered these days, she knew but it helped her feel more human. "What do you think?"

"I mean, it's a shirt." Charlie shrugged, her eyes roaming the plain, olive green shirt. It was short-sleeved. Almost small enough to be form-fitting but not quite.

"You're impossible." Maggie grumbled. "What's your style? What do you like?"

"Not short sleeves." Charlie whispered to herself, not intending for Maggie to hear. She's never had much luck.

"Charlie, you know..." Maggie trailed off hesitantly. "You don't have to...be scared." She winced as soon as the words left her mouth, she hadn't meant to say that exactly, better words just escaped her. If there were better words.

"I'm not scared." Charlie shook her head, taking no offense at Maggie's words. "Around you guys it's fine. I know you, I trust you." Sighing, the teen looked off to the side. "But others...I just...Around new people, people I don't know, I feel... Well, I feel naked. And I don't like it."

"Yeah." Maggie said softly, nodding her head. "I can't say I understand but, you should know it doesn't change anything."

"Thank you." Charlie smiled with another nod. It meant a lot, to hear those words. She'd excepted her scars years ago but that didn't mean she sometimes felt insecure about them. Felt people would look at her in ways she didn't want to be looked at. "And I like the shirt."

"It is a good shirt." Maggie agreed, smiling down at the girl.

* * *

"Having fun?" Glenn asked the girls sarcastically as they met up, seeing their smiling faces when they approached.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we are." Charlie stated proudly.

"Yeah, well why you two were off doing whatever, we were being productive." He continued, his words more playful than anything.

"Told you." Charlie whispered to Maggie with a smirk.

"We were productive." Maggie argued. "In our own way."

"Uh-huh." Glenn hummed before turning back to the task at hand. "There's still a few places to check. The convenience store didn't hold much but we did alright."

"Let's make it quick, head out soon, be back before dark." Daryl spoke up, his last word coming as a chill shot up Charlie's spine and she spun her head around, brows furrowing when she saw nothing. It wasn't like she was being watched, it was different somehow. Like a bad feeling in your gut but it decided to display itself differently. The teen just chalked it up to being so far from the prison.

With nods all around, the group of four set off towards the other small shops, hoping to find something worth finding. The chills on Charlie's back all but disappeared when they entered the next building. It was much larger than the others but the teen couldn't tell what was really there. Just a few odds and ends.

Clearing it was no harder than other times. There were a few walkers to take down and after it was done, everyone split off to make the process faster. It was like any other run, everything was going smoothly. Until it wasn't.

"I wouldn't do that If I were you." An unfamiliar, muffled voice said and Charlie moved behind a shelf, gun held in front of her. "J-just lower your weapons."

"How 'bout you lower yours." Daryl's gruff voice cut in as Charlie quietly made her way through the building.

"You don't get to make the demands here, I do." The strange, shaky voice shouted, a shuffling noise following soon after.

"Just, just calm down." That was Glenn's voice, it sounded strained and Charlie soon found out why.

Peaking around a particularly large shelf, the teen felt her heart drop at the sight of a large man holding Maggie to his chest, an arm around her neck, gun digging into her skull. "No! Just p-put your weapons down." The jittery man demanded, an off, panicked look shining in his eyes.

"Okay, okay." Glenn agreed, seeing the man's growing agitation and lowered his gun, holding his hands out in surrender. "Just let her go."

"As soon as bowman drops his." The man said, seeming slightly calmer with one less weapon pointed at him.

"Daryl." Glenn mumbled. He didn't like it but he didn't see another way. This man had a gun pointed at his wife's head, his arm wrapped tightly around her throat. He was terrified.

Reluctantly, Daryl lowered his bow but kept his eyes glued to the man, trying to keep his anger under control. "Put them on the ground." When both men hesitated, the stranger tightened his grip on Maggie's throat. "Or I'll put one in her head."

"Okay," Glenn nodded, slowly lowering his gun to the ground. "Okay."

"Good, now you." The man said, nodding to Daryl who still held his bow at his side.

Pulling against the man's arm, Maggie struggled to take deep breaths and keep herself calm. She'd kept her eyes locked with Glenn through the whole things but something from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head as much as she could, eyes straining to see beside her when they caught Charlie's.

Catching Maggie's eye, Charlie tried to read what the women was thinking before she gave a quick nod. She barely even know what she was doing. Her stomach was in knots, her heart was racing as it dropped into her stomach. But her hands were steady, eyes locked onto the man in front of her.

It happened fast then. One second the air was tense, everyone standing on edge. The next Maggie was elbowing the man behind her when she felt his grip loosen, the gun slipping. She lunged forward and before anyone could take another breath, a gunshot rang out.

The body hitting the floor went unheard by the teenager. The ringing in her ears was to loud to hear anything around her. For a fleeting moment, she found it odd, she's shot a gun before and her ears never rang like this. Nausea hit her next, so strong she brought a hand to cover her mouth.

Eyes glued to the dead guy now lying on the floor, Charlie felt her gun slipping from her hand. She blinked, sluggishly, closing her eyes and opening them to a different view. It took a few more blinks to see what it was and when she did, her mind struggled with the decision to take a step back or forward.

"Kid?" Daryl asked, bending down to catch the teen's eyes and block her view from the person she just killed. "Charlie."

"Maggie?" The girl asked when she found her voice, lowering the hand from her mouth.

"She's okay. You did good." He tried to assure her, his eyes never leaving Charlie's face as she avoided his eyes.

"Can we go?" The words were merely a whisper but the archer heard them and nodded.

"Yeah, c'mon." When the teen didn't move, Daryl placed a light hand on her shoulder and gently guided her outside.

Once the car was in sight, Charlie broke off and climbed into the passenger seat once more and twist to face the window as much as possible. The others join her, no one said anything and Charlie wasn't sure if she wished they would or was grateful that they didn't. All she did know was that she just ended someone's life and her palms stung from where her nails were digging into them.

The ride back to the prison was the exact opposite as the one away. No one spoke, the air was filled with a somber atmosphere. Or maybe that was just Charlie, the girl wasn't sure and she didn't care, all she wanted was to be back home and be alone in her cell. She was holding everything together now but had no idea how long she'd be able to.

The sun was setting when they arrived. Charlie loved sunsets, watching the from one of the towers had become a regular thing for her. But today it went ignored as the teen climbed from the car and walked quickly towards her cell, everything blurring around her.

She doesn't cry. Her eyes burn with tears but she wipes them away before they can fall. She paces her cell, taking short deep breaths before falling onto her bed. She was tired but knew there was no way she'd be able to rest. She still felt nauseas and doubted that feeling would disappear anytime soon.

Legs pulled to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around herself, Charlie focused on bringing in deep breaths through her nose and out through her mouth. Forehead resting atop her knees, the teen ignored the light footsteps outside of her cell until they came to a stop and nothing happened.

"You can come in." She mumbled, already knowing who it was. "I'm okay." It might not be entirely true but she had been worse before.

"Sorry you had to do that." Daryl said after a minute, taking a seat next to the girl. He was severely out of his element here. Comforting someone was not something Daryl Dixon did.

"It was gonna happen sooner or later, right?" Charlie shrugged, wrapped a loose thread from her jeans around her finger. "It's stupid. I mean, he was threatening us. He had a gun to Maggie's head. I shouldn't feel bad."

"Nah, you're supposed to feel like this." He'd be more worried if she felt nothing but he still hated when she was feeling anything but happy.

"Yeah." Charlie sighed. "I'm scared for the day when I don't." She admitted. "When I can kill someone and don't feel anything. As much as I hate it, I don't want to not feel anything."

"It won't come to that." The words left Daryl's mouth before he put much thought into them but it didn't matter, he'd make sure they stayed true.

"You don't know that." Charlie scoffed. She hated everything about this. She shouldn't feel bad and she needed to stop acting like a child. It sucked but it was done, she needed to get over it and move on. Easier said than done. "Sorry. I'm just tired."

"Get some sleep." He mumbled to her, climbing to his feet in time to see her raise an eyebrow at him. "Try." He stressed, his heart feeling lighter when he saw her roll her eyes.

"Daryl." Stopping in the doorway, the hunter turned back to the girl. "Thanks.

* * *

**I think she handled that pretty well. But maybe it's delayed shock? Who knows. **

**Thanks for reading! Hope this chapter was enjoyable. I broke my streak but it doesn't really matter, I'll probably be doing it a lot. I'm trying to give my other stories some attention. **

**Sorry for any mistakes.**

**Until next time, friends.**

* * *

'-'


	12. Reality is Bleak

**I just want to apologize for any words that don't go in a certain sentence. My brain doesn't work right and I sometimes switch words for completely different ones. Also some sentences that just don't make sense. When I write them, I say the words in my head but it comes out different and most of the time I don't notice. So apologies if you come across something like this.**

**Don't want to spoil anything, but uh, a lot of talking in this chapter.**

**I hope you guys have enjoyed the last few chapters, I'm not sure. I was worried some would disagree with my decision about Merle, but it's important for further plot, I'd love to know what you guys think though. Thanks for reading! **

**Words: 3,896? I use two word counters that tell me different things so I don't know man.**

* * *

Sunrises were beautiful but in a different way than sunsets. But not any less enjoyable to watch. The guard towers provided a great view as well. The sun rose to its full height way too soon for the teenager. She wished she could watch the beautiful sight just a little longer.

The sound of the prison waking up was distant but there. It was comforting in a way. A few people had already been up, Rick for example. He was really invested in his crops these days. He'd come out a few hours after Charlie had. Carl started helping him a few days back, he'd rather do other things, Charlie knew, but he didn't hate it.

A set of very distinctive footsteps soon reached the teen's ears and she sighs. She wanted to be left alone right now but couldn't build up the courage to tell him to leave. "How long you been up here?" Daryl asked even though Charlie held the suspicion that he already knew.

"Doesn't matter." She mumbled, her tired, sore eyes watching a random walker claw at the fence.

"You eat?"

"I'll get something later." Charlie was right when she thought the nausea she felt wouldn't be disappearing for a while. She'd eaten through worse before but today she was just too tired to force herself to.

"Char-"

"I don't really want to talk." She cut him off. She could deal with him being there but the last thing she wanted to do right now was talk. She guessed he'd understand, he wasn't a big talker on a good day.

He did understand and didn't try to talk again. The two sat in silence, Charlie's legs pulled to her chest. Daryl's elbows resting on his knees as he picked at his nails.

For once, even if she wanted it, the silence was killing her. She'd asked for it but now her head felt like it was going to explode. "You know he stopped carrying his gun."

"Yeah." Daryl mumbled, his eyes moving to Rick at the girl's words.

"He took Carl's. He wants it back but it's probably for the best right now." The boy had complained to Charlie about his father taking away his gun. She didn't voice her agreement with what the man did, instead, she chose to listen as the boy ranted.

"Probably." Another one-word answer. Charlie wasn't sure why it bothered her, she's the one who said she didn't want to talk.

"I don't want to have a freaking heart-to-heart, but could you say more than that?"

"Thought you didn't want to talk." Daryl stated, his voice flat but holding no real annoyance.

"Well, I changed my mind." The teen grumbled. "I just don't want to talk about that."

"You broke into a bowling alley?" He'd planned on bringing it up anyway until everything else happened, so he figured now was a better time than any.

"One of my many criminal activities." She joked dryly. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. I mean, it was fun, even if we did get chased out by security."

Snorting, Daryl smirked when he muttered. "Amateur."

"You're not wrong." Charlie sighed after a moment. She'd hoped the light conversation would make her feel better and it did, just not much. Not enough. "Good talk. I'm gonna, uh, stretch my legs." Rushing from the tower before Daryl could say anything, Charlie made her way up to the prison and inside before walking to her cell.

Sitting on her bed, Charlie ran her hands through her hair, pulling on the long dark strands. Jumping to her restless feet a second later, the teen tied her hair into a bun before grabbing her bow that sat in the corner before turning to the door.

It's not that she had to sneak out but felt the need too. She needed to be out there and didn't want anyone else to know. Especially Daryl, he'd only try to stop her or come with her.

It wasn't too hard. Everyone she really knew was off somewhere else and anyone else she passed didn't spare her a second glance. Until...

"Charlie?" Stopping dead in her tracks, Charlie curses her luck silently and clenches her jaw before turning around to face Carl, giving the boy a smile.

"Sup, bud?" She asked, trying her best to sound casual.

"Where are you going?" He asked suspiciously, eyeing her extra weapons.

"Uh, no where." The older teen shrugged, knowing as soon as the words left her mouth that he didn't believe her.

"You have your bow." Carl knew Charlie only used her bow when she was going on a hunt or long run. And there wasn't a run that the boy was aware of.

"Okay, fine." Charlie sighed, she knew it was no use. "I'm just going out for a bit, I won't be long."

"Do the others know? Does Daryl?" Agitation and worry seeped into the boy's words as he looked over at his sister.

"No, okay? And they don't need too. I go out by myself all the time." All the time might have been a bit of a stretch but it didn't matter, not to Charlie.

"You have to tell someone when you're going outside the walls." Carl stressed.

"I'm telling you." Charlie shrugged, aware of how childish she was acting right now but everything inside her was building up and she just needed to be anywhere but here. "Please, Carl, I just need a few minutes. I'm going, don't tell anyone, okay?"

Sighing, Carl looked around before nodded. "Fine." If she wasn't back in a few hours then he'd tell someone. He wouldn't tell her that though because he knew she'd make him promise not too.

"Thank you." Charlie said before turned and walking through the tombs with more urgency than before. There were a few walkers nearby but the teen was able to sneak into the forest without them noticing.

She took a deep breath once she was far enough away. She felt like she could actually breathe out here. Inside the walls, even outside, the air felt stale and thick. Out here it was clear. Breathing took little effort.

Trudging through the woods, Charlie tried not to think about anything. She needed her mind to be clear. She wasn't having much luck. The occasional walker came into her path and she easily dispatched of them. They made for good target practice but sometimes she used her knife. She wasn't sure if it was making her feel better or worse.

Her body felt like it was vibrating with energy, ready to be let out. Whether that be through breaking out into a run until she fell over. Hitting walkers until they were even more unidentifiable than normal. Maybe punching another inanimate object. Instead of a wall, this time it'd be a tree.

But she was tired at the same time. She hadn't slept the night before, every time she closed her eyes she saw the cold dead ones of the man she'd killed. She hadn't eaten all day. She just wanted to fall over and sleep without her the images in her mind haunting her.

A skittering noise drew the teen's attention to her left where she saw a little rabbit. Freezing, the teen kept her eyes glued to the small creature as it sniffed the ground and as if sensing her watching him, he looked up to her eyes before scurrying off.

Giving a tired sigh, Charlie continued on her walk. She wasn't going anywhere, had no destination in mind. She was just walking. Maybe if she walked far enough she wouldn't have a choice and her body would just shut off, allowing her the rest she desperately craved.

The quietest of crunches behind the girl had her spinning around, notching an arrow as she did. It could've been anything. A walker, dear, another rabbit, a person. Of course, it was the latter. Daryl was way sneakier than any person had a right to be.

He hadn't wondered onto her by accident, she knew that. Which could only mean. "Ugh, Carl, you little snitch." She mumbled while lowering the arrow she'd been pointing at the man in front of her.

"What are you doin'?" He asked, crossbow held loosely at his side.

"Going for walk." Charlie said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It kind of was though, she reasoned.

"You been out here for hours." Had she? She hadn't noticed. "It's getting late, let's go."

"No." The word almost surprised the teen as much as it did Daryl but she hid it and instead turned away.

"What?" The archer asked, furrowing his brows at the girl.

"It's a simple two-letter word, Daryl, what about it can't you understand?" Wow, she really sounded like a stuck up teenager right now. But, Charlie couldn't bring herself to care. "I didn't ask you to come out here. Go back if you want, I'm staying."

"Kid, let's go." He repeated. Daryl honestly didn't know what to say. She'd never talked to him like this before.

"I came out here to be alone, if you're here, that doesn't work." She stated, acting as if she didn't hear his words.

"Charlie." He tried again, starting to get annoyed by the teenager. She snuck out without telling anyone. Carl only knew because he caught her. It would be dark soon and they were way too far from the prison. Didn't she know how dangerous this was?

"No." Charlie spun on him before he could continue. She didn't know where the sudden anger came from and it wasn't because of Daryl, but she was taking it out on him. "I can be out here if I want to be and you don't get to tell me otherwise. Okay? I'm not your responsibility!" She regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth. Couldn't take them back now. She didn't feel angry anymore though. Just defeated. Exhausted.

She could tell Daryl was hiding however the words made him feel. His eyes were blank, his lip between his teeth as he shifted on his feet. Charlie felt like she was going to be sick for a different reason than before.

"That's not-I didn't..." Dropping her head, Charlie's breath got caught in her throat. This sucked, Charlie despised crying. Especially in front of people.

"This isn't just about that guy." One of the reasons Charlie hated getting emotional, words spilled off her lips without her permission. "I mean yeah, I see him every time I close my eyes. I feel this crushing guilt whenever I think about the fact that I took away someone's life. Just like that, gone. Nothing left but a rotting corpse. And I'm tired. But I can't close my eyes because all I see are nightmares. My mind won't let me sleep because I'm so messed up." Tears were openly streaming down her face now. She hated it, it made her feel weak. Dropping her bow with a hiccup, Charlie brought her hands up to harshly rub her face. "I just want to sleep."

"I know." If she wasn't so busy crying, Charlie would have noted how uncharacteristically soft Daryl's voice was. "I know."

Shaking her head, the teen tried to breathe through the tears as she continued to rub them away. "Kid, Charlie, stop." Stop? Stop what? Crying? Yeah, she'd love to do that, if she could.

Reaching out, Daryl softly grabbed Charlie's wrists and pulled them away from her face. She had started rubbing her tears away but after a moment she started using her nails. He was worried she'd hurt herself. "C'mon." He mumbled, voice still soft.

Feeling the gentle hold on her wrists didn't bother Charlie like it normally would. It felt like it was grounding her, helping her pull herself out of this. Like pain normally did. But it wasn't enough and breathing was harder than it should be.

A cloudy vision of Carl hugging her pushed to the front of her mind. After getting used to them, they made her feel comforted and safe, even if he was smaller. It didn't matter. She loved Carl and she trusted him. It was the same with Daryl. They were both her family and she trusted them.

She'd never sought comfort in touch before. Never in another human really, but that didn't mean she couldn't now. It was an odd process, Daryl probably wasn't expecting the girl he knew to shy away from any form of touch, to take a step towards him, clumsily pull her arms from his hands to wrap around him instead.

But he didn't hesitate to return the emotionally distraught girls hug. He kept his hold loose, allowing her to back away whenever she wanted. The last thing she needed right now was to feel trapped.

Out of all the ways Daryl Dixon saw his life going, holding a sobbing teenager in the middle of the woods during the apocalypse was not one of them. But he didn't mind. Charlie was his family, he cared for her. He'd be there for her like he is now for the rest of their lives.

When the archer felt Charlie's small fists tighten around the back of his shirt and vest, he did the same with his arms while rubbing a hand over her back. If Merle could see him now, Daryl thought dryly. He knew his brother cared for the girl as well. Even if he'd die before admitting it.

"I'm sorry." A raspy, muffled voice sounded before Charlie pulled away, rubbing her red eyes.

"Nah, you're okay." Daryl said, voice still soft as Charlie gave another hiccup. "Wanna head back?"

"Yeah." The girl whispered with a nod, her voice small as she went to pick up her bow.

"I got it." Daryl mumbled, picking up the weapon himself before the teen could. "C'mon." Allowing Daryl to place a hand on her shoulder, Charlie let him guide her onto the path back to the prison.

* * *

The sun had started to set when the two got back. Charlie kept her head down the whole time, hiding her red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained face. She walked close to Daryl, his presence comforting her.

No one stopped to talk to them, Charlie didn't even know who they passed, all she could see were her shoes. The teen walked numbly through the walls of the prison, trusting Daryl to guide her. And he did. With an occasional hand on her shoulder, pulling her the right way until they reached her room.

Charlie all but fell onto the bed, her legs giving out when she was unable to stop them. A bottle of water was placed in her hands but she couldn't bring herself to do anything but hold it. "You need to drink something." Daryl told her as he took a seat.

Barely able to nod, Charlie brought the bottle to her lips with shaky hands. She hadn't even realized she was thirsty until the first drop of water hit her tongue and she downed half the bottle.

Charlie felt the need to be embarrassed but was too tired. Her head hurt and it was a struggle to hold her eyes open. Who knew crying was such a tiring act. That coupled with not eating anything all day made the teen weak and beyond exhausted. But she fought off sleep as much as she could. She knew what she'd see if her eyes closed.

But she just couldn't hold her head up anymore. One second she was blinking slowly, staring straight ahead. The next everything was sideways. Her head resting on something firm yet soft. Daryl's shoulder. She'd definitely be embarrassed about that later. But now she couldn't lift her head even if she wanted to.

"I don't wanna sleep." She mumbled tiredly, still fighting against the inevitable.

"You got to." Daryl said, his voice only just louder than hers.

"Will you stay?" Another thing she'd be embarrassed about. Might as well make a list at this point.

"Yeah." It wasn't long after Daryl's hummed reply that the teenager finally gave in to the need for sleep. He didn't plan on breaking his word but he also knew she couldn't stay sitting up like that. So after making sure she was out, Daryl carefully laid Charlie down on her bed.

He took a moment to look around the cell-turned-room. It still looked like a cell but he doubted it would never not. She'd put a few things around here and there, but it was clean and tidy. It was unlike the others. Not that he took to looking in everyone's rooms, he'd just seen them moving stuff in, seeing them become crowded with new belongings overtime. Charlie's didn't look much different from the day they got here. Most of her belongings were stuffed into her bag which sat in the corner by the door. Packed and ready to go at any time.

It wasn't just a habit she picked up over time since the world ended, it was how she grew up. Charlie had told him a few stories here and there about her childhood but nothing much. Just the little things. Like a neighbors dog that she'd made friends with before she had to move again. A boy that taught her magic tricks. Her fifth-grade math teacher who let the young Charlie eat lunch in her classroom sometimes. She never talked about the bad stuff, she acted like it never happened and he didn't ask.

But he knew there was bad stuff. Of course he did. Everyone who knew her did. Still, no one asked. It was best that way but guilt weighed heavy in his gut when he thought about it. Especially after what just happened. Like Charlie said, this wasn't only about the guy she'd killed, he knew that. It just added onto other things and it became too much.

A motion from the corner of his eye snapped Daryl from his thoughts. Maggie stood in the doorway, eyes switching from Charlie up to Daryl. "Hey, she okay?" The young woman asked when he stepped out of the cell, not wanting to wake the teen.

Looking past the fabric hanging over Charlie's room and at her sleeping form, Daryl hesitated to answer. She wasn't okay was the simple answer. Today had not been a good day. But she was a strong kid. "She will be."

"She never should have had to do that." Maggie commented softly, shaking her head. Charlie was like another little sister to her, she hated that she had to kill someone. No one should ever have to go through dealing with that, especially someone so young.

"Yeah." Daryl agreed. "But she did."

"Carl told Rick that she left when you hadn't come back after a while. We were starting to get worried but someone saw you guys coming back inside through the tombs."

"She went out far." Daryl informed, eyes once again moving from Maggie to Charlie.

"Are you okay?" Maggie asked, giving him a raised brow. She knew Daryl cared for Charlie. They all did, but he was the first person the teen took to out of the group. They were close, like siblings, but at times, Maggie saw little things that made her think Daryl thought of the young girl as his own child.

"Uh-huh." The archer hummed with pursed lips.

"Okay." Maggie nodded even if she didn't fully believe him, and placed a soft hand on his arm before leaving.

Not long after Maggie left and Daryl returned to the cell, sitting on the hard floor with some random book. It was better than staring at the blank walls. It was a quiet noise but enough to get the hunter's attention. Looking over at the sleeping teen, Daryl noticed her face was scrunched together and her fist was squeezing tightly to her pillow. He knew what a nightmare looked like. This is why she didn't want to sleep, he knew he had to wake her, he just hated to because she needed the sleep. It wasn't hard to see how exhausted she was.

Placing a heavy but gentle hand on her shoulder, Daryl called out to Charlie until her eyes snapped open. It seemed to take her a few seconds to realize where she was but when she did, her hands moved up to rub over her face.

"I'm sorry. You can go, you don't have to stay." The teen mumbled as she sat up. She just wanted this day to be over already.

"You're not." Daryl's hushed, gruff voice brought Charlie's head up to look over at him with furrowed brows. "Messed up." He elaborates, remembering her earlier words. "You're not."

Sighing and rubbing her face one last time, Charlie drags herself out of bed and plops onto the floor next to him. "It's stupid." She whispers, the quiet words dying before they could echo through the walls. "Sometimes, it's like, everything is okay the way it is. Then suddenly it's not. And when that happens, I don't know what to do."

"You keep going. Because it is okay the way it is. It has to be." The words were for Charlie as much as they were for Daryl. He got what she was saying, understood it. But he couldn't see things like that, he had to see the good things.

Looking down, Charlie runs her fingers over the uneven ridges on her arm. She'd always hated talking before, maybe that's why she needed to do it now. "I cover these so I don't have to see them. If I don't see them I don't have to talk about them, I can pretend they don't exist. If they don't exist, whatever happened to cause them didn't actually happen."

"I don't just cover them so others don't see, I cover them so I won't see."

"They don't matter." Daryl told her. He didn't want her to feel insecure or ashamed. They're a part of her, part of who she is but they didn't define who she was. Everyone deserves to feel comfortable in their own skin no matter what other people say or think. "It's just skin."

"I'm sorry about what I said, in the woods, I didn't mean it." Charlie said into the silence that settled between the two. "No ones ever wanted to look out for me because they cared. Even out of the whole group, you were the first person who ever really treated me like I was more than nothing."

"You know, Merle was the only family I ever really had. But he was barely that on a good day and that's when he was actually there. He's different now, even if he is out there. But he's not the only family I got anymore."

Taking a deep breath when her eyes started to heat up, Charlie shook her head and rubbed her face for the umpteenth time. "Since when did we start talking about our feelings?" She tried to laugh, the sound coming out weak and tired.

"You need sleep." Daryl said instead of answering the girl's rhetorical question.

"M'kay." She mumbled, already half asleep again, head once again falling onto his shoulder. "I don't wanna move though."

"It's okay." He mumbled, not minding in the least.

"Mhm." Charlie hummed, losing the battle with consciousness.

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**Daryl loves his little sister, it makes me happy. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'd love to read what you thought. **

**Until next time, friends.**

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	13. Domino Effect

**This story is much better in my head...Oh well. Sorry for the wait, I've had this written, not sure why I didn't post it. Guess I'm just trying to figure out a few things. Timeline and scenes I want to do and all that.**

**Thanks for your patients, follows, favorites and reviews. They help a lot.**

**Thanks for still reading!**

**Sorry for any mistakes. (Like this story itself)**

**Words: 3,594**

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"Hey, Daryl."

"Morning, Daryl."

"Goodmorning."

"Just so you know, I liked you first." Carol said to the hunter as he stopped in front of her, smiling as Charlie chuckled, twirling one of the two dutch braids in her hair courtesy of Beth.

"Stop." He mumbled before throwing a piece of food into his mouth. "You know, Rick brought in a lot of them, too."

"Not recently." Carol told him. "Give the stranger sanctuary, keeping people fed, you're going to have to live with the love."

"I think you secretly like the attention." Charlie said, laughing when Daryl shot her a glare.

"I need you to see something. Patrick, you want to take over?"

"Yes, ma'am." The young teenager nodded, moving forward to take the items Carol held out to him. "Mr. Dixon." He called out as Daryl went to pass him, and Charlie hid her chuckle in her shoulder. "I just wanted to thank you for bringing that deer back yesterday. It was a real treat, sir."

"Nah," The archer but in before the boy could say anything else. "That one was Charlie." Was all he said before walking off with Carol.

"What?" Charlie said as she watched him go. She had tracked the deer but that's it. "Asshole." She mumbled to herself as Patrick turned his smiling face to her. "Ha, uh, yeah, you're welcome, got to go, bye." She rushed out before turning to catch up with the others.

"The thing is, we had a pretty big buildup overnight." Carol was saying when the teen arrived sure to shoot Daryl a glare that he only smirked at. "Dozens more towards tower three. It's getting as bad as last month. They don't spread out anymore."

"With more of us sitting here, we're drawing more of them out." Daryl said. "You get enough of those damn fence-clingers, they start to herd up."

"Pushing up against the fences again. It's manageable, but unless we get ahead of it, not for long. Sorry, Pookie." Snorting at Carol's name for Daryl, Charlie turned away to follow after him.

"We're still doing the run today?" She asked, walking by his side.

"Yeah. Place is ready to go, now as good a time as any." He nodded, offering her the rest of his food. "Get that gas can."

"'Kay." Charlie mumbled, grabbing the red item off the ground and setting it in the bed of the truck, covering her mouth when a cough pushed its way out of her throat.

"Still got that damn cough?" Daryl asked when he heard, sending a concealed worried look her way.

"It's not so bad." Charlie shrugged. "It's been like, a week, should be gone soon. Just allergies." Watching her for another moment, Daryl nodded and turned away. "Here." She said to Zach, holding out her hand for the gun and bag.

"Thanks." He mumbled before turning away to see Beth. "Hey, I was just about to come find you."

"What's up?" The blonde asked while Charlie jumped onto the tailgate.

"Well, the council pulled back everyone on the coal crew form going on the run. They're short-handed right now. I figured I'd step up to help, go with 'em." He told his girlfriend. "Just, you know, wanted to make sure that I saw you before."

"Okay." Beth said with a shake of her head.

"I just- cause you know, it's dangerous out there."

"I know." Beth chuckled, kissing him on the cheek before walking away.

"Okay, you gonna say goodbye?"

"Nope." She called back to him, fist-bumping Charlie as she passed the girl.

"It's like a damn romance novel." Daryl grumbled as he walked around the truck, setting a crate in the back.

"I think it's cute." Charlie smiled. Zach wasn't a bad guy and he made her friend happy and that made her happy.

"'Bout as cute as the crush Patrick's got on you." Daryl shot back, moving some supplies around.

"He does not have a crush on me." Charlie argued for what umpteenth time.

"Uh-huh, sure." Daryl scoffed sarcastically, tapping her shoulder to make her move, allowing him to close the tailgate.

"Whatever." The teen mumbled, waving him off before going around the truck, climbing into the little green car that Glenn was driving. "How's Maggie?" She asked him casually as they were the only two in the car. "It's just a question." Charlie shrugged when he raised a suspicious brow at her.

"She's fine." He said slowly, still watching the girl from the corner of his eye.

"Good." She mumbled, turning to look out the window as the others climbed inside. It didn't take long before the car started moving forward, with Daryl on his bike in front and the truck following from behind. But just as quickly, it came to a stop.

Jumping from the vehicle, Charlie ran over to greet Michonne with a quick side hug. "Glad to see you back." She told the older woman, holding back the question she badly wanted to ask.

"Glad to be back." Michonne smiled down at the girl before answering the unasked question. "He's still out there."

"Okay." She sighed with a nod, hiding her disappointment at the news, instead she focused on what she heard when she approached. "You coming with?"

"Mhm." The woman hummed with a nod.

"Okay, there's room in the car." Charlie told her, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb.

Climbing back inside, the teen watched the scenery roll past her window, trying the whole ride not to get caught up in her thoughts. It wasn't easy but not as hard as it used to be. Things have been doing better lately. The prison was thriving, there were lots of people, all helping out. Everything was good. It's okay the way it is.

"Army came in and put these fences up." Daryl was saying as everyone unloaded and gathered together. "Last week when we spotted this place, there was a bunch of walkers behind this chain-link. Keeping people out like a bunch of guard dogs."

"So they all just left?" Bob asked, eyes roaming the area in front of him.

"Give a listen." Sasha said before everyone went quiet, the faint sounds of music reaching their ears.

"You drew 'em out." Michonne concluded with a nod.

"Put a boom box out there three days ago."

"Hooked it up to two car batteries."

"Alright, let's make a sweep. Make sure it's safe." Daryl said as he entered through the cut in the fence. "Grab what you can, we'll come back tomorrow with more people."

Charlie unholstered her gun as she followed behind, helping sweep the area. There wasn't much to see, old tents, useless things thrown around. No walkers, only bodies. "Come on." Daryl mumbled as they approached the big building, pounding on the glass window when he reached it. "Just give it a second."

Holstering her gun, Charlie then pulled the machete off her back as she leaned next to him. She liked it better when going into places like this, even if Daryl disagreed. "Okay, I think I got it." Zack said, breaking the silence.

"Got what?" Michonne asked and Charlie shook her head at Zach's little game.

"I've been trying to guess what Daryl did before the turn." He informed the woman.

"For like, six weeks." Charlie said as Zack took a seat on the other side of Daryl.

"Yeah, I'm pacing myself." He told them. "One shot a day."

"All right, shoot." Daryl waved his hand, humoring the kid.

"Well, the way you are at the prison, you being on the council, you're able to track, you're helping people, but you're still being kind of..." Zach trailed off as he searched his mind for the right word. "Surly." Charlie snorted at that, chuckled when Daryl nudged her shoulder. "Big swing here. Homicide cop."

Reactions from Michonne and Charlie were instant, both breaking out into quiet laughs, the teen's turning into a cough that she hid in her shoulder. "What's so funny?" Daryl asked them both and Charlie quickly schooled her features and shook her head.

"Nothing. It makes perfect sense." Michonne said, a smile in her voice.

"Actually, the man's right." Daryl nodded and Charlie rolled her eyes. "Undercover."

"Come on, really?" Zach asked in disbelief.

"Yep. I mean, I don't like to talk about it, cause it was a lot of heavy shit, you know." Daryl continued with the lie, much to Charlie's amusement.

"Dude, come on, really?" Zach asked again, this time only earning him a look from Daryl. "Okay, I'll just keeping guessing, I guess."

"Yeah, you keep doing that." Daryl said before a loud bang behind them had everyone jumping to their feet.

"We're gonna do this, detective?" Michonne question, smiling at her joke.

"Let's do it." Taking the cutters from Tyreese, Daryl cut the chain over the door and with everyone's help, the walkers were killed and moved out of the way in no time.

"All right, we go in, stay in formation for the sweep." Sasha reminded everyone. "After that, you all know what you're supposed to look for. Any questions?"

No one did except her brother, the man asking if she ever wasn't the boss of him. Everyone moved in, staying in formation like Sasha said, making sure there were no threats before splitting off the search.

"He hasn't been back for a while." Charlie said to Daryl as the two walked down an aisle.

"I know." Daryl mumbled back, eyes searching the shelves beside him. "Merle's Merle, he does what he wants."

"And he wants to stay out there?"

"He wants to find him."

"Yeah." Charlie muttered before a loud crash had her head snapping to the side before they both ran towards it.

Emerging from around a corner, Daryl takes the lead when they see a shelf overturned and kneels down. "You alright? You cut or something?" He asked, shining his light in the space provided by boxes holding the shelf off the ground slightly.

"No, man, but my foot is caught." Bob answers with a shaky voice while Zach and Tyreese join them.

"All right." Daryl says as he stands. "He's just caught. Come on, help me up." He commanded, grabbing the shelf, ready to lift, the others helping as Charlie scanned their surroundings. The crash was really loud and her gut was heavy with worry despite having cleared the store already.

"What happened?" Glenn's voice reached their ears from across the store.

"Everyone's all right." Zach called out to the others. "We're over in wine and beer."

"I was moving fast, man." Bob chuckled, the sound coming off more nervous than humorous. "I drove right into the drinks."

"Man you lucked out." Tyreese was saying as Charlie furrows her brows, head-turning up. The teen wasn't sure what made her do it, and in the end, it didn't matter, nor did it help as a walker suddenly fell through the roof, hanging from its intestines.

"Woah." Charlie mumbled, jumping back at the same time a hand grabbed her upper arm.

"Yeah, uh, we should probably go now." Glenn said as Daryl released his hold on the teenager, stepping around her as he spoke

"Bob's still stuck. Get him out of there."

"We'll get the others." Michonne said just as more walkers started falling through the ceiling. Charlie didn't know what else to do, so she tried to follow the woman, only to be sidetracked by walkers.

She fired her gun, hitting them in the head as they tried to back her into a corner. It took effort but as soon as the teen saw an opening, she ran for it, turning into an aisle in time to see Glenn falling to the floor, two walkers on top of him. She didn't hesitate to help him, killing one walker as he got the other. "Come on, come on." She muttered urgently as she helped him to his feet, more walkers advancing on them fast.

Running and shooting down walkers, the two made their way over to Daryl as he stood on top of some boxes, walkers surrounding him. "Daryl, go!" Glenn shouted as the crashed helicopter continued to push its way through the ceiling.

"Get Bob!" Charlie vaguely heard Zack yell as they met up. Daryl ran form their side and with the young man's help, lifted the shelf off Bob while the others continued killing walkers.

Everyone was yelling varying versions of "we got to go", the words almost drowned out by the loud noises caused by the ceiling as it caved in. But one noise easily reached everyone's ears and they turned just in time to see Zach falling, a walker latched onto his ankle, soon joined by others.

"Zach!" Charlie was sure she wasn't the only one calling out his name, but the teen couldn't be bothered to figure it out as she watched rotten teeth tear into the boy's flesh, his screams echoing in her head.

"Go, go!" Daryl yelled to everyone, herding them out as the ceiling lost its last bit of strength and the helicopter finally fell. Charlie barely registered the arm he had around her waist, pulling her along with them. She'd been so focused on Zach that she didn't realize what was happening until they were almost outside. He couldn't be saved, she knew that and her legs started working in time to carry her from the destroyed building and into the hot sun.

Everyone ran to the cars without looking back, jumping into the same seats they had previously occupied. It hadn't even been an hour since they drove up to the gates. Since they were sitting around outside the shop, joking and laughing. Since everything was okay.

They didn't drive straight back to the prison. Once a safe distance away, Glenn slowed to a stop and bent forward, forehead resting on the steering wheel, knuckles white. The others were in their own state of shock.

Stuff like this, losing people, Charlie had thought that with how often it happens these days, they should be used to it. But, you can't just get used to something like that, can you? It doesn't matter how many times it happens. You let someone in, you let people get closed to you only for them to get ripped away. Was it even worth it?

Before she could think about that ridiculous thought anymore, a knock next to her caused the teen to jump as her head jerked to the side. Daryl had pulled over next to them and was giving her a questioning look. Turning back, Charlie sees Glenn in the same position and decides he's not about to drive off before opening her door and climbing out.

"I'm okay." She all but whispered as he stood in front of her, his hand gently holding her chin and tilting her head to the side, his eyes narrowing on the small cut under her eye. She hadn't even realized it was there until now. "Are you?"

He and Zach weren't necessarily close, but he was one of their people. It was never easy and Daryl tended to feel responsible for everyone in the group. He only offered the teen a nod before leaning past her to knock on the window. "Gotta go." He mumbled just loud enough for Glenn to hear when the younger man rolled down the window.

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"I can tell her." Charlie had whispered to Daryl after arriving at the prison. But the man only shook his head with a mumbled reply, telling her he'd do it alone. Maybe he saw the look in her eyes. She'd tried to keep her face blank but keeping every emotion from showing through your eyes was harder than schooling one's facial features.

Or maybe he just wanted to be the one. He didn't want to do it, that was obvious. No one ever wanted to break the news that their loved one was dead. But it had to be done, he knew that. He'd do it so no one else had to.

Meanwhile, Charlie found a quiet corner to be alone in. She called herself a coward in her head. Zach was her friend, she may not have known him very long but she liked him. He was a good guy. But she wasn't the only one who'd lost him. He was more to others, to Beth, than he was to her. What gave her the right to be as upset as them?

That's what she tried to tell herself. That she didn't have the right to be upset. But it didn't help. The teenager still found herself huddled in a cold, dark corner, sliding to the ground as she tried to control her breathing. It took her a minute to realize she was biting down on her lip and when she did, she forced herself to stop. That would leave an obvious mark she didn't feel like explaining. So instead the girl brought her closed fist up to replace the soft tissue, sinking her teeth into it instead.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Charlie knew it wasn't healthy. She was hurting herself. It made her sick to think about it sometimes. But it's the only thing that helps. Gives her something real, makes her feel something more than the panic. Something to hold on to, to help drag herself back. It helps her breathe.

The dull, pulsing shooting down her fingers brought Charlie back to reality. Her breathing started evening out but the numbness in her legs didn't disappear. The teen deflated against the wall, letting her feet stretch out in front of her.

Pulling her fist from her mouth, Charlie only then notices the blood sliding down her fingers and resting on her lips and teeth. She doesn't do anything for what felt like the longest time, but eventually, the teen brings up her free hand to wipe the crimson-colored liquid from her face before clumsily rubbing it off her hand.

With nothing else to do, Charlie lets her head fall back to rest on the wall behind her, not even bothering to wipe away the silent tears that leaked from her eyes. If anyone else was around, she'd claim that the sound ripping from her throat was a cough, not a sob. And if that person was still watching her, they'd come to believe her as the teen broke out into a coughing fit.

Once she got her breath back, Charlie pulled herself to her feet before falling onto her bed. She rubbed her face with her hands, irritating the cut below her eye, and probably only serving in making herself look worse rather than better. But the teen paid no mind as she fell back onto her pillow.

With the exhaustion of the day coupled with the dull ache behind Charlie's eyes, the fatigued teenager found herself falling asleep quickly. But before the peaceful darkness awaiting could completely drag her under, a quiet shuffling caught her attention, pulling her back.

"Sorry." Daryl apologized when Charlie's tired eyes squinted up at him.

"It's fine." The teen mumbled as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Wasn't sleep. How'd she take it?" She asked, unsure of if she even wanted to know.

"Okay, considering." Daryl sighed for his place leaning against the wall, watching Charlie wrap her arms around her stomach and curl into herself. She'd been crying, he could tell. Her eyes were red and puffy, tear stains on her equally red cheeks. But he didn't say anything about it. "And you?"

Sighing, Charlie drops her head into her hands and shakes it. "M'fine, just tired." Her voice came out muffled, blocked by her hands but the teenager made no effort to move until a cough pushed past her lips. She knew she'd irritated her already raw throat by the crying she would never admit to, but it's not like she could help it.

"Here." Daryl stepped forward, offering the teen a bottle of water she could've sworn he didn't have five seconds prior.

Pushing her confusion aside, Charlie accepts the water before taking a small sip, sighing as the cold liquid soothed her throat. "Thanks." She whispered, eyes glued to the bottle as she tossed it between her hands. "I'm gonna...um, try to sleep, I guess." Fumbling over her words, Charlie digs the heels of her hands into her aching eyes.

"Yeah." Daryl nodded in agreement. "See you in the mornin'."

"Okay." The teen mumbles, her gaze glued to his feet, watching as he hesitated a moment before leaving her alone. Sighing, the teen closed her eyes before lying down. She didn't want to sleep but knew she had too. Her eyes had been fighting to stay open for a little while and now that they've closed, she didn't think she could open them anytime soon.

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**Thanks for reading, I'd love to know what you think!**

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'-'


	14. One By One, We Fall

**It's been way to long. I wasn't going to post because I don't like how I've written this story and I just wanted it to be the best it could be. But screw it, I've got to many other things to do lol. **

**The timing is a bit off from the show, but that's the wonders of fanfiction, we make it our own. Or something like that, I don't know. This is just how it worked out.**

**Also, I was wondering if I should complete this story and start Not Bound By Blood III or just continue here after these next few chapters. I'd really like to know what you guys think, any opinion is appreciated**

**And again also, I'm rewriting my rewrites. This writing genre just isn't my strong suit.**

**Last off, I wrote this chapter a while back and I didn't reread it because I'm lazy.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Words: 1,894**

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When Charlie wakes the next morning, she lies in bed for some time, staring out at the low light shining into her room. It's early, she doesn't want to get up immediately but when she can't stand sitting still any longer, the teenager pulls herself to her feet. The headache she'd had the night before is no more than a dull throb in the back of her skull. She feels a bit stuffy from the crying, but she figures that will dissipate soon enough.

Walking through the prison, Charlie makes sure to keep her footfalls light as she descends the stairs. Most around her are still sleeping. Her eyes catch Rick bouncing Judith on his hip and the girl smiles.

"She's an early riser, huh?" She questions softly, waving to the young child while approaching.

"Unlike some others." The former sheriff says with a glanced at Carl's cell.

"Well, he was probably up all night reading comics." Charlie huffs a laugh, leaning against a table. She doesn't blame the boy, those comics could get interesting. She may or may not have been reading them herself.

"You feel okay?" Rick questions the older teenager. She looks tired, he notices. He's a father and though Charlie may not be his daughter, he worries like she is.

"Yeah, just, you know, yesterday and everything." The teen mumbles and rubs her eyes. It's odd, having people ask such questions so genuinely. But Charlie finds she's starting to get used to it, appreciate it. Sometimes it still feels weird, especially coming from people she doesn't know as well as the others. But it's nice, having people who care for her.

Rick can only nod before the sound of his alarm rings out. It's quiet enough not to wake the others but the man hurries to shut it off before peeking into Carl's cell and calling out to the boy until he wakes. "I'll watch her, Beth could use some extra sleep." Charlie offers, nodding towards Judith. Rick wants to get outside as soon as possible, get started on his gardening. He's becoming a real farmer these days. "I need to spend more time with her anyway, don't want her forgetting me."

Chuckling, Rick hands over his daughter as a sleepy Carl emerges from his cell. "I wouldn't worry about that."

"Yeah, your annoying voice is hard to forget." Carl jabs playfully, his groggy voice making him sound more serious.

"Hey!" Charlie whisper shouts at him with an offended look, smiling despite herself. "You little punk." Carl doesn't answer verbally, only turns and sticks his tongue out at the girl before following behind his laughing father. "Very mature." Charlie quietly calls after him as Judith grabs a hand full of her long hair. "You see what your brother did?" She asks the small girl, earning no response. "Cutie."

It's not much time later that Charlie finds herself sitting, bouncing Judith on her legs when Beth joins them, sitting beside the younger teen. "You could've woken me." The blonde tells her, smiling at the baby.

"We all need our sleep, you included," Charlie informs her friend without looking up at her. "Besides, I like spending time with this little rascal."

"Want some breakfast?"

"Sounds good." Charlie nods to her before looking back at Judith when Beth stands to gather some food. She seems okay this morning, Charlie hadn't seen her since before Zach. The teen had no intention of bringing it up either. "This is holding up well." She tells Beth when she returns, holding up her hand to show off her blue nails. Painted by the blonde herself.

"Just give it another day, it'll be chipping before you know it."

"Hmm, I don't have much experience in this area." Charlie shrugs, looking at the hand that isn't wrapped around Judith. "Never thought it was my thing."

"But you like it?" Beth asks hopefully. She enjoys showing these things to Charlie, she knows the other teen isn't very girly, which is fine, it makes it more fun.

"Jury's still out." Charlie chuckles, clearing her throat when the sound dies off.

"You okay?" Beth questions, her own smile gone.

"Yeah, you mind taking Judith? I'm just gonna go get some air."

"Okay." Beth quickly moves to grab the child, allowing Charlie to stand. "We'll be here." The others are making their way out of their cells now but the teenager easily slips past them and outside. It's still quite out there, only the distant moaning of the dead reaching her ears.

She feels better than she had when waking up. The throbbing in her head disappeared after eating and she no longer feels stuffy. But the early morning sun is nice. If she could block out the events of the day before, everything could be okay.

But in the end, everything goes bad, doesn't it? It's like one thing after the other. When a single cog in a machine stops working, the whole thing shuts down. Or in this case, goes to shit.

When faint gunshots ring out deep into the prison, Charlie doesn't hesitate to follow them into D block. She'd only armed herself with her pistol and a knife that morning. She's just glad she never decided to stop carrying them.

Chaos was the only word that goes through the teen's head when she reaches the cell block. People were running and screaming, some had guns shooting at walkers. Walkers she recognizes. Can't dwell on it now, Charlie thinks and she uses her own gun to shoot down the reanimated corpses.

"Luke!" She calls out to the little, curly-headed boy when she sees him standing in the middle of everything, unable to move while he cries. "Are you okay?" She asks the young boy when she reaches his side, grabbing him to move to a safer place. "Are you bit?" A shake of his head is the only answer Charlie receives but it's good enough for her. She passes the boy to Karen who quickly takes him into the safety of her cell.

The others are there now, she notices. Daryl, Rick, and others she doesn't bother looking for as a walker advances on her. Unable to raise her gun properly and in time, Charlie uses the knife in her left hand to put it down.

Everything seems to go completely silent after that. Everything is still, there's no more screaming. The only noise that fills the air is the sound of everyone's heavy breathing.

"Hey," Daryl's deep voice is the first to break the silence, drawing everyone's attention to him as he marches over to Charlie. "You bit?" The girl only shakes her head. She's sure she isn't but in all honestly, she can't feel her body, it's numb. But she's sure she isn't.

"Are you hurt?" Daryl continues to ask, not satisfied with her response.

"No, I-I'm fine." Charlie states loudly once she finds her voice, waving off his concern. She's covered in blood, she only now realizes. "I'm fine." She repeats, softer this time.

"The hell you doing in here?" He knows he shouldn't be angry. Charlie would never just turn her back when their people need help. But when his eyes first landed on her, fighting off walkers and covered in blood, the worst thoughts ran through his mind. He felt a crushing weight in his gut when he thought she could've been hurt and controlling his emotions has never been his strong suit.

"Helping." Charlie's voice was much stronger now, stern even, as she turns to look up at him, annoyed that he's mad at her. He's in here as well, he has no more right than she does.

Huffing through his nose, Daryl bites his tongue to prevent himself from yelling at her any further. In the end, he knows he can't keep her from danger, no matter how hard he tries. Doesn't mean he wasn't going to. Instead of saying anything else, the hunter rests a hand on her shoulder before they both move to join everyone else in searching the cells. They'd need to make sure all the dead were put down. Clear the bodies. Find the source of whatever the hell happened.

"Oh, it's Patrick." Daryl says, his voice dropping low as he stares down at the boy. Charlie stands behind everyone, letting out a heavy sigh at the information. He was just a kid, a good kid. Innocent. "It's all of 'em."

Resisting the urge to run a hand over her face, knowing she'd only spread blood around, Charlie clenches her jaw shut and shakes her head. There's nothing to do about it now, she tries to tell herself while leaning against the top floor railing.

"You good?" Daryl questions from her side and Charlie takes a moment before looking up at him and shaking her head. He doesn't question her any further, only chews his bottom lip before their attention turns as everyone gathers around a cell holding a dead body.

"No bites. No wounds." Rick is saying from where he'd crouched onto the floor. "I think he just died."

"Horrible too." Dr. S. puts in as he observed the boy's body. "Pleurisy aspiration."

"Choked to death on his own blood." Hershel translates helpfully without any prompting. "Caused those trails down his face." He continues but Charlie takes his word for it, choosing not to look, her eyes glued to her shoes.

"I've seen them before, on a walker outside the fences," Rick says and Charlie feels sicker every second that goes by. There always had to be something, didn't there?

"They're from the internal lung pressure building up." Caleb explains. "Like if you shake a soda can and pop the top. Only imagine your eyes, ears, nose, and throat are the top." Sounds delightful, Charlie thinks sarcastically.

"It's a sickness from the walkers?" Bob wonders aloud.

"No, these things happened before they were around." Caleb answeres. "Could be pneumococcal. Most likely an aggressive flu strain."

"Someone locked him in just in time." Hershel comments, gaze still hovering over the dead man.

"Nah, man, Will used to sleepwalk," Daryls says with a shake of his head. "Locked himself in. Hell, he was just eating barbecue yesterday. How could somebody die in a day from a cold?"

"I had a sick pig, died quick. Saw a sick boar in the woods."

"Pigs and birds, that's how these things spread in the past. We need to do something about those hogs."

"Maybe we get lucky. Maybe these two cases are it." Caleb says and Charlie could've laughed. Like that would ever happen, we don't get lucky, the teen thinks silently

"Haven't seen anybody be lucky in a long time." Bob says and Charlie nods to herself in agreement. "Bugs like to run through close quarters. Doesn't get any closer than this."

"All of us in here, we've been exposed." Hershal states and even though Charlie had gathered that information herself, it felt worse to hear it aloud.

Silence follows the older man's words and Charlie would've marched out of there if she wasn't worried about helping spread whatever this was. She had no idea what to do.

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**Yup, got more written but I don't know when I'll update. Probably once I know if people are still reading this lol. **

**But yeah, let me know what you guys think, I hope you're still with me. If not, it's no ones fault but my own. **

**I would like to say my writing gets a bit better in later chapters. Um, and more original things come later so you're not reading the same stuff over and over. **

**And I've been thinking, I don't think I'm going to write Negan because I hate him so much lol. I hate that whole thing. I might use him and the others but it won't be the same as in the show. Thoughts on that?**

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!**

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	15. The Next Step

**When I uploaded the last chapter, I accidentally put 13 instead of 14. Oops. Sorry for that but it's fixed. Just don't want anyone to be confused or read this one without reading the correct chapter 14.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy.**

**Words: 2,010**

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Getting cleaned up, turns out, is the next move to make. Charlie changes into clean clothes, burning her blood-covered ones after. Stay away from the others. The ones who weren't exposed, at least.

The teenager is sure there will be a council meeting later. They'll talk this out, figure out the best course of action. Daryl is burying the bodies now. He wouldn't let her help. There's a secluded place around the prison. Charlie takes to it, sitting by herself. It isn't away from everything, if something happens she'll know about it. But no one comes here.

She sits there for an unknown amount of time. Her back against the wall, knees pulled to her chest. Now that everything is calm, everything that happened hits her. She'd been numb until now, but flashes of people she knew, some she'd talked to. Parents, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters. All dead. Slaughtered in their sleep only to rise and eat their loved ones.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Charlie buries her head in her knees and tries to breathe evenly. Tears pour from her eyes but the teenager doesn't try to stop them. She grips her legs tighter, biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood.

Footsteps approach but Charlie doesn't bother looking up. She knows who it is. Daryl has very distinct footsteps. He doesn't speak, only takes a seat about a foot away from her, back resting against the wall like her own.

Sniffing, Charlie barely lifts her head and she scoots closer to him. He won't do it himself, he's always given her her space. She's always been grateful for that. But the pain shooting through her lip isn't helping like it usually does. She remembers that day in the woods when she had a breakdown. She'd hugged him. That had been her first hug not with someone under twelve since she was a little kid. Contact has been something she's shied away from since a very young age. She can't remember exactly. But it had helped then, that day in the woods.

Stopping when she feels her side hit his arm, Charlie cautiously and gently grabs his wrist. She worries he'll pull away even if she knows he won't. Lifting his arm, Charlie places it over her shoulders and curls into his side like a small child. She's more relieved than she'd thought she would be when he doesn't move away but instead holds her to him. It's out of character for both of them but neither mind. After everything that happened that morning, it doesn't seem to matter.

He'd cleaned up, changed from his sweaty, possible bloodstained clothes as well. Charlie wouldn't have cared if he hadn't, she just wanted the comfort that his presence offers. It scares her a little, caring. She cares so much for these people around her, she doesn't know how she'd survive if she lost them. They're her family, her first family and she wants to hold onto that forever. Maybe it's selfish to wish, but if she has it her way, she'd die before any of them.

They sit there for a while, Charlie doesn't know how long. Neither speak, they only let the silence surround them. She feels like such a little kid, sitting there, hiding her face in Daryl's shoulder. But she doesn't care because she feels safe. He makes her feel safe.

When she finally calms down, Charlie wipes at her damp cheeks and clears her throat. "What are we supposed to do now?" She whispers. "I mean, I saw Patrick yesterday, he was fine. He died in a single night? How-" The teen cuts herself off, unsure of what else to say. It seems impossible, whatever this thing is. If it can kill someone so quickly, how do they stop it? She knows how to defend herself against walkers but not this sickness. How do you fight that?

"We'll figure it out," Daryl says, squeezing her shoulder. "We always do."

At what cost, Charlie stops herself from asking. They've had problems in the past but solving them always comes at a price. She isn't sure what that price will be this time around. She's not sure she wants to know.

"Yeah." She nods instead. It's comfortable, sitting here, but at the same time not. Her butt is numb, her back aches, she feels stiff. She doesn't want to move but she needs to. "Guess we shouldn't be around the others." She voices as she stands. "Carl, Judith."

"Yeah." Daryl nods, also getting to his feet.

"Do we know if anyone else is sick?" Charlie asks him, the thought just now occurring to her. She'd been back here all day, blocked off from any news of what was going on.

"Mhm." Daryl nods regretfully. "Karen and David."

"Shit." The teenager mumbles to herself. She didn't know them well. She'd seen Karen earlier in D block. The woman is dating Tyreese. She can put a face to the name David but not much else.

"Got 'em separated from everyone," Daryl informs her as they start walking. "A cell in the tombs."

"Comfortable," Charlie mutters sarcastically to herself. They had to do what they had to do though. She doesn't plan on sleeping in her cell tonight. She'll stay outside if she has too. No way she was going anywhere near the kids. Near anyone who hasn't been exposed.

Pausing in her steps, Charlie looks down into the field, watching as more graves are dug. It'd never stop, it hits her then. People died all the time before but now it's like everywhere you turn, someone else has dropped. You blink once and someones died. It's like trying to grasp onto water. You can't, it just slips through your fingers, leaving you to watch as it falls. It makes her feel helpless.

"C'mon." Daryl mumbles when he sees what she's looking at, tapping her shoulder to get her attention back on him. She needs to eat, he'll focus on that right now. That's something he could control. He can make sure she's okay, safe. He has to focus on that.

* * *

The next day comes fast. Charlie barely slept the night after everything happened. Thankfully, the teen doesn't feel tired. She keeps to Daryl's side all morning, he makes sure she eats. He doesn't like her being around him but she'd reminded him she was exposed to the sickness just as much as he was. It didn't make him feel better.

The two are just walking around a corner outside the prison when Rick appears from nowhere, asking Daryl to follow him. Charlie furrows her brows but follows from a distance. Carol appears at Rick's side suddenly as well. Charlie goes unnoticed by the adults, which she's thankful for. She wants to know what's going on but doubts they'd tell her.

The group of four - or three and a half - make there way through the tombs. Charlie's still plenty of feet behind them. She doesn't want anyone telling her to leave. Daryl knows she's there so if she really wasn't supposed to be, he'd tell her to leave, she reasons.

When they come out into a little opening, the ceiling disappearing and opening up to the sky, Charlie lets out a quiet gasp and steps back. On the ground are two bodies. Burned bodies. The teenager only then notices the trail of blood on the ground leading out. She can't recognize the bodies but she knows who they are. David and Karen.

Tyreese is there. He'd also gone unnoticed by the teenager. He's breathing heavily as he looks down at the bodies. Rick walks to him, Charlie doesn't listen to what he's saying until they raise their voices.

"Somebody dragged them out here and set them on fire," Tyreese states heavily. Charlie's glad she's still stood in the doorway, the darkness falling over her form. She likes Tyreese, he's a nice guy. But now she isn't sure what to think. "They killed them and set them on fire!" He moves then, short and fast to face Rick. The man himself takes a step back and Daryl moves just as quickly to stand behind Tyreese, ready if the unstable man were to attack. Emotions do crazy things to people.

"You're a cop. You find out who did this and you bring 'em to me. You understand! You bring 'em to me!" Through the panic building in her gut, Charlie knows that's a bad idea. Knows if Rick finds out who did this he wouldn't let them near Tyreese. Right?

"We'll find out who-" Daryl tries to tell him, only to get harshly shrugged off by the man.

"I need to say it again?" Tyreese asks without breaking eye contact with Rick who shakes his head.

"No, no. I know what you're feeling. I've been there." Daryl happens to catch Charlie's gaze then, the girl's petite form barely visible from the dark corridor. He wants her to leave, she can see that in his eyes but he only motions for her not to come any closer. She gladly listens. "You saw me there. It's dangerous."

"Karen didn't deserve this! David didn't deserve it!" Tyreese continues, his voice loud. "Nobody does!"

"All right, man, let's-" Daryl tries again, only this time Tyreese doesn't just shrug him off, instead he turns around and pushes him against the furthest wall.

Charlie takes a step forward but doesn't go any further. She doesn't even notice her hand hovering over her gun as Rick surges forward, ready to grab the man only to stop when Daryl holds a hand out to him. "We're on the same side, man." Charlie barely hears Daryl tell him.

"Hey, look," Rick starts again, his voice low and soft. A voice he's used many times since becoming a cop, talking down scared or unstable people. "I know what you're going through. We've all lost someone. We know what you're going through right now, but you gotta calm down."

Charlie thinks that's probably not the best thing to say right as Rick goes to place a hand on Tyreese's shoulder. She's soon proven correct when the man turns away from Daryl and shoves the former Sheriff back. "You need to step the hell back!"

"No," Carol says, her voice going unheard by the men present.

"She wouldn't want you being like this," Rick says and Charlie would've rolled her eyes if she wasn't just a little terrified.

The teenager's fear is not unwarranted. It feels like she just blinked and Rick is on the ground, having received a punch to the face. Carol yells at them to stop, Tyreese punches Rick again but doesn't get much farther before the man on the ground jumps up, delivering his own hits.

Charlie can't move, not that she would've been any help. Her hand covers her mouth as she watches with wide eyes. Daryl grabs Rick and struggles to pull him off Tyreese who is now barely moving on the ground.

Carol cautiously moves to Tyreese then. Daryl stands back with his eyes on Rick, watching the man slowly calm down. And deeming it safe enough to exit the dark hall, Charlie makes her way to the archer's side. He glances at her, keeping himself in front of her just slightly even if the threat is naturalized.

When one domino falls, they all fall.

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**Aw, look at them, being a family. Charlie's letting herself depend on people more even though it scares her. She's put all of her trust in Daryl. What do you guys think? **

**Next update won't be as quick because I'll be away from my computer for about two, three days. Not sure yet. I have a big test Monday if you guys wanna wish me luck. **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you for reading!**

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	16. Chapter 16

**Glad people are still reading this, lol. I'm excited for future chapters! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**I had this big test Mondey and I failed...oh well. Just feeling a bit down about that.**

**Words: 2,634**

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Talk about dominoes. More people are sick. The council decided to use A block to hold the sick. Death row. Seemed fitting in a dark way.

Charlie can't bring herself to part from Daryl's side. The man isn't complaining so she doesn't bother forcing herself too. The situation earlier is fresh in the girl's mind but she tries to push it aside. Tyreese's face looks like shit. Rick's hand is busted. Half their people are dying from a sickness they can't stop. Typical Tuesday in the apocalypse, right?

In the distance, Charlie sees Hershel and Glenn talking. The two don't notice either hunter approaching them until a cough tears its way out of Charlie's mouth. Then suddenly the teenager has three pairs of eyes glued to her. It's slightly unnerving.

"I've had this cough all week." She tells them all, holding up a finger. She knows what they're thinking but she doesn't feel sick. Other than the tickle in the back of her throat but she'd had that for days. She would be showing other symptoms by now, right?

"Let me just check you over, be safe." Hershel says, limping over to her and Daryl steps forward.

"She ain't going in there. She's not sick now, she sure as hell will be surrounded by all them." He argues, throwing his hand out to the side. So many others are already sick. A block is filling up fast. No way he'd let her go in there if she wasn't sick.

"No ones going anywhere." Hershel soothes the archer, lifting his hand to Charlie's forehead when she nods her permission. "Have you felt faint, dizzy? LIghtheaded?"

"No." Charlie shakes her head as much as she can, moving only her eyes to look at Daryl.

"Well, you don't feel hot." Hershel says, his hands feeling the lymph nodes on her neck for any swelling. "I'd say you're okay for now. But you were in D, you were exposed. If you show-"

"If I show any symptoms, I will go to A." Charlie cuts him off. She means her words no matter how much they scare her. "Promise." Her throat suddenly feels tight but not because she's sick. She's terrified.

* * *

"Hey, bud." Charlie is the first to speak when Carl stops a few feet in front of her. A little too close for her liking but she knows it's far enough. All the kids and older people are going into quarantine. Carl obviously isn't happy about it, but it has to be done.

"Hey." The boy mumbles in response, kicking at the ground with his boot-clad feet.

"I know you've been told, but this is for the best. Someone has to be in there to watch out for the others." She tells him, wanting to step forward but she holds herself back. "And I don't know what I'd do if you got sick. You have to stay safe."

"And what about you?" Carl questions, anger seeping into his voice. He's angry but he's scared too, not that he'd admit that to anyone. He doesn't want anyone else to get sick. He knows Glenn has it, he'd moved into A right before the young boy started heading to quarantine. His dad could get sick, Maggie, Hershel, Daryl, anyone could get sick. Charlie could get sick. She was in the cellblock with the infected, she had a high chance of catching it.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Charlie shakes her head. She still feels fine, hadn't been showing signs of the sickness but that doesn't mean she can't still get it. Glenn has it. But she can't think about that, she won't be able to move if she does. She can't afford that, she has to do something.

"I worry." Carl states. He sounds so much older than he is and Charlie guesses in a way, he is. He might be young in years but he's been through so much, stuff like that ages you.

"Yeah, I know." Charlie offers the boy a small smile and she nods. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay." Carl sighs, shifting his bag onto his shoulder.

"Be safe, bud."

"You too." Turning on his heel, Carl continues on his way and Charlie watches him go. He'll be fine, she tells herself as she closes her eyes and tilts her head back. Everything is moving so fast. After what happened with Karen and David, everyone seems to be sick. Charlie has seen so many people go into A block in the short time she'd been separated from Daryl. The council held another meeting and, well, she wasn't on the council. Obviously.

Spinning around, Charlie starts walking the opposite way that Carl had. She'd asked Maggie earlier to bring her some stuff from her cell. The woman had been hesitant because of what she'd asked for but did it anyway.

Grabbing her bow and arrows, Charlie throws them and her machete onto her back before tracking down Daryl. She knows he's going on a run for medicine. And she's preparing herself to convince him into letting her come along.

"I'm coming with you." She states firmly but lamely when she approaches him, trying her best to hide the wince that comes across her face. That isn't exactly what she'd planned on saying. Oh, well, can't take it back now.

"The hell you are." Daryl scoffs as he wipes his hands on an old piece of cloth.

"I heard you say it yourself, you need more people. You know I can do this." She argues with him, speaking again before he has the chance. "Being in here right now is no more dangerous than being out there." Maybe not entirely true, but she has to convince him somehow. "And think of it this way, if I'm with you, you can keep an eye on me."

"She's got a point." Michonne says from behind the teen. Charlie hadn't heard her approach but she doesn't turn to look at the woman. Instead, she keeps her eyes on Daryl as he chews his lip.

Grunting, Daryl brakes Charlie's unwavering gaze. She gets this hard look in her eyes when she wants something, he isn't sure she even knows she does it. "Fine." He grumbles unhappily. She did have a point though, he can keep an eye on her if she's with him. But if she's here, he wouldn't have too. But he'd be worrying about her the whole time. "You do exactly as I say." He tells her sternly, his blue eyes meeting her's once more.

"You act like haven't done this before." She mumbles to him before throwing her things into the passenger side floorboard, a little surprised that had been so easy.

Michonne hands Daryl something as Charlie climbs up to sit on the roof of the car, swinging her feet as she waits. She's looking down when a voice has her head snapping up. "Still got room for one more?" Tyreese appears, squinting over at Daryl who nods.

"Hell, yeah."

"Good, just gotta get by gear." The battered man says before turning and going back the way he came.

"That's..." _Not a good idea_, Charlie wants to say but doesn't. They need people and he's one of the few not sick. She just hopes it won't come back to bite them in their asses later.

* * *

The group of five take off sooner rather than later. Time is running out for the people who are sick, they need to get back quickly. Somehow Charlie doesn't see that happening though. These past few days have proven that things always go wrong.

Michonne sits in the back with Bob and Tyreese. Which Charlie is thankful for. She doesn't mind either of the men, they seemed like nice guys. Although since the Big Spot, something about Bob feels off. Just thinking about stuffing herself into the crowded back seats of a car is enough to give the girl chills.

Tyreese is a whole other story. He's a good guy, that was Charlie's impression of him not long ago. It hadn't changed, not entirely, but losing Karen hit him hard. Then Sasha getting sick. The teen still held her tongue with protests of him coming along. It would do no good now. They did need people and he was one of the few capable that wasn't sick. His face has seen better days though. Rick really did a number on him. The whole situation had just gotten way out of hand. Grief can do that to a person.

Everyone is silent. The only noise is the sound of the engine as the car drives down the road. Charlie has both feet propped on the dashboard, her knees bent so she can lean her cheek on them, graze locked out the window, watching the trees blur by. It's almost peaceful if it wasn't for the knowledge of what's going on back home and the slight, barely there tension in the air. Or the feeling that everything was far from over. Just the thought makes Charlie tired.

Thoughts of Merle enter the teenager's mind. He's still out there, still looking for the governor. She hopes he's okay. Kind of hopes he doesn't come back anytime soon, not until the sickness passes. The man is an asshole more than not, but that doesn't mean he's a bad guy, it's his personality. He might've done bad things, been with the wrong people but he's not anymore.

Answering the question, 'can people change', isn't so simple. It's not a yes or no question. Maybe it is to some people, but Charlie doesn't see it that way. It isn't all black and white. Sometimes people don't need to change, they're the right person all along. Sometimes something is so engraved into people's minds, they can't see it any other way. So, can people change? I guess it depends on the person. And the people around them.

Charlie suspects that's the tension in the air. Daryl disagrees with them leaving all the time, they're barely ever at the prison. He'd gotten close with Michonne back then when all three went out but when he stopped going, saying the trail was dead, they didn't. He constantly worries about his brother and his friend, like the others. It's just something else on top of everything.

Blowing a puff of air through her nose, Charlie lifts her head just enough to turn it, resting the opposite cheek against her knees. Daryl's face is set in its normal blank expression. Though his jaw is tight and he occasionally grinds his teeth together. His knuckles aren't white but he holds a tight grip on the steering wheel.

Charlie feels the need to say something, she just doesn't know what that something is. So instead she picks her head up once more to rest her chin on her knees and look straight ahead.

"Hm." The hum was quiet, Charlie almost doesn't hear it but tapping on her shoulder brings the girl's gaze back to Daryl who catches her eye and gestures with his hand, saying. "Would you hand me one of them CDs from the glovebox."

Nodding, the teen drops her legs to the floor as Daryl starts fidgeting with the car's stereo. _"Find sanctuary._" A distorted, fuzzy voice cuts through the silence when he turns the radio on, causing everyone to freeze.

"Was that a voice?" Bob asks from the back seat, leaning forward to hear better.

"Shh." Daryl hushes over his shoulder, eyes glued to his hands as he tries to find the right station.

"_Determined...to survive...keep alive._" Charlie struggles to make out what was being said, she wasn't even sure if what she heard was correct but it doesn't matter because the next thing she knows she's being jerked forward when Daryl hit the breaks. He swerves to miss a walker, the single reanimated corpse soon joined by others and Daryl continue to dodge them. Charlie's heart is in her throat and for a split second, she thinks those are the only ones. Of course, she couldn't be right, could she? Stopping only a few feet away, everyone in the car watches as walkers come out of nowhere, surrounding the car, trapping them.

"Grab something!" Daryl shouts just before putting the car in reverse and hitting the gas. Only the walkers behind them are too much and the car stops moving.

"Go to the left." Michonne says but it's futile and the car remains still.

"We're jammed up." Letting go of the wheel, Daryl turns to his right and points out the window. "Make a run for the gaps right there." Getting Charlie's attention, the hunter makes sure the girl is hearing him when he speaks again. "You make a run for the woods and you don't stop for nothing, you hear me?"

Nodding is the only thing Charlie can do. She knows it will only use up time they didn't have to argue right now so she turns and pulls the machete off her back. "Now!" Daryl shouts and everyone moves into action. He jumps up, standing through the sunroof. Michonne kicks open the back door as Charlie does the same with her own.

Walkers are everywhere, slowly surrounding them. Daryl shoots one with his bow before jumping from the car. Charlie and Michonne take the ones down that got to close as they run for the woods. Bob follows but neither teenager nor woman can see him or Tyreese as they continue forward. "Ty!" Bob's shouting reaches Charlie's ears over the walker's moans but the teenager doesn't look back until she reaches the edge of the woods, soon joined my Michonne and Daryl who pause to look back as Bob approaches.

Tyreese is still by the car, hitting walkers that surround him as he shouts for the others to leave. There's nothing else to be done, only a moment later, he disappears into the crowd.

"Come on." Daryl mumbles to everyone, directing Charlie in front of him with a hand on her shoulder. The teenager feels horrible but there's nothing she could think to do. They run away from the herd and into the forest but the loud moans still reached their ears. Some walkers are still lingering in the trees around them, the rotting bodies easily taken care of by Michonne or Daryl.

"Go!" Daryl shouts louder when he spots an opening that leads further away from the walkers. There's a brief opening in the trees and as they are surrounded by them once more, Daryl calls for them to stop. "Hold up." He reloads his crossbow, watching the brush he'd heard a noise from until two walkers emerged. Sighing, the archer lifts his weapon in preparation to shoot when one dropped to the ground, dead once more to reveal Tyreese.

Charlie doesn't let herself breathe a sigh of relief while the others help the man to his feet, she only keeps an eye on their surroundings before they all start running again, walkers trailing behind.

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**The group continues in their search for meds in the next chapter. I think you guys know the big even that happens after that...**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed and you know I love reviews if you'd like to tell me what you thought of the chapter!**

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	17. To Have Means To Lose

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Old chapters are still being rewritten but not much in the story line will change. Though if it does, I'll just make a note so you guys don't get confused or left out.**

**Words: 3,334**

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"This is Turner Creek, so Barnesville must be a few miles downstream." Michonne points at the map with Daryl and Bob. Charlie doesn't bother looking but she listens, her eyes scanning the scenery around them instead. It's early morning, after losing the car the day before, it had gotten dark fast and the group had to stop and make camp.

"Sounds like our best chance at finding a new ride." Bob puts in as Michonne folds the paper.

"Yo, Ty!" Daryl shouts off the bridge and down to the man who's cleaning the blood from his shirt. "Come on, let's go. Vámonos."

Picking up her feet, Charlie follows after him and Michonne as Bob lags behind to speak with Tyreese. She doesn't listen to what is said, it isn't her business. Her thoughts stray to her bow. She'd left it in the car, sitting on the passenger-side floorboard. Just when she thought she was getting good with it. It sucked, she loved that bow but it was _just_ a bow, she could maybe find a new one. Easier said than done, though.

Sighing the teenager struggles not to drag her feet while lifting her hand to grab the necklace hanging around her neck. The one Michonne had given her. It feels almost like a lifetime ago but she knows it hadn't been that long. It's such a simple thing, an accessory, but it's one of the first gifts she's ever received.

Michonne and Daryl are a few paces ahead, talking with each other. Charlie once again doesn't try to eavesdrop, she doesn't feel like it. She has a good idea of what they're talking about anyway.

Bob and Tyreese catch up to them soon enough but stay to the side a bit. Charlie feels a little annoyance towards Ty. He's moping, has given up because they'd lost the whole night. He thinks his sister is dead already. He doesn't know that for sure and even if she is, not everyone is dead, they can't be. He's hindering their progress. He shouldn't have come if that's all he was going to do.

"Is that jasper?" Michonne's voice catches Charlie's ear and the girl looks up the see that she's closer to them now because they had stopped, Daryl kneeling on the ground with something held in his hands.

"Mm-hmm." The hunter hums with a nod.

"It's a good color," Michonne says, smiling a cheeky smile when Daryl looks up at her. "Brings out your eyes."

"When Miss Richards went into A block, we were leaving," Daryl speaks as Charlie comes to stand behind his shoulder. "Asked me to keep a lookout. I'm gonna use it for her old man's marker."

"You know all them back there?" Michonne questions when he starts to walk again, stopping him in his tracks. Charlie had gotten to know most people back home but she still chose to only be around her original group mostly. There was this one lady, Mrs. Peters, she's nice. Her husband died a while back and he had been deaf, so she knows ASL and she's been teaching Charlie a few things. The teenager wasn't sure if there's a point, but she likes learning. She's good at it and it makes the older woman happy.

"You stay in one place for more than a couple of hours, you'd be surprised what you pick up." Daryl says before quickly walking away.

Charlie hesitates, throwing Michonne an apologetic look before rushing to catch up. Will things ever not be messed up? The teenager wants to ask, she even opens her mouth too, but the words don't come out. She figures she already knows the answer. After Zack, Patrick, everyone in D block, the sickness, the situation they're in now. The world was shitty before but it was even more so now and it always will be. There will always be something. As cheesy as it sounds, Charlie thinks that as long as she has these people, it doesn't matter if things are bad, at least she isn't alone. There was a time when alone was all Charlie wanted to be, now it's the last thing she wants.

The group of five continue on in silence for a while. No one has anything to say. Or no one wants to say anything, to trapped inside their own heads. They stick to the same road until a building comes into sight. A car service station of some kind.

"You see something?" Bob asks when everyone turns off the road.

"I don't know, maybe." Daryl says as he looks at the branches and vines covering most of the structure and things around it.

The next thing Charlie knows, Bob and Tyreese are uncovering a car while Daryl checks to see if it works. "We gotta find us a new battery." He says as he stands, closing the van's door behind him. There's a window behind him, clouded over by dirt from going so long without a cleaning. Charlie isn't proud of it, she tries to hide it but when a walker bangs up against the glass, the girl jumps where she stands at Michonne's side. "Got some friends inside. Come on." Daryl states and turns back to the others. "Let's clear a path, see how many we got."

The entrance is covered with branches and thick foliage. Everyone lines up on the outside with sharp weapons. Charlie stands on Daryl's right side with her machete, away from the others. The girl doesn't get to do much before she stops, eyebrows furrowing. She looks to Tyreese who hits the vines like they'd tried to kill him. He's angry but that's no excuse to be reckless. "Hey, man, go easy," Daryl calls out to him. "We don't know what we're dealing with."

Tyreese acts as if he doesn't hear the other man and continues to swing until his weapon becomes stuck. Charlie almost puts her head down with a sigh but never gets the chance because the next thing she sees is a walker arm reaching through the brush, grabbing the front of Daryl's shirt. Acting quicker than she thought she could, Charlie cuts the walkers arm off with her weapon, freeing Daryl and allowing him to stab it in the head. More reaches out, one grabs Bob who Michonne is helping, the other is on Tyreese. But the man has a hold on the walker more than it does on him.

"Tyreese!" Bob shouts at the man.

"Ty, let him go." Michonne demands, standing back with her sword at the ready. But he doesn't let go, he hangs on and pulls until the walker comes free, falling on top of him. Rushing forward, Daryl pulls the walker off and backs up to let Bob shoot it in the head. Charlie immediately thinks about the noise but no one else seems too worried about it.

"Why the hell didn't you let go?" Michonne asks Ty when the man stands but he only glares at her before moving on. He shouldn't have come, Charlie thinks to herself again with a shake of her head.

"You okay?" The teenager asks Daryl when she stops by his side.

"Mhm." He hums with a nod, eyes moving from Ty and down to her. She isn't uninjured from what he can tell. Charlie almost wishes she had voiced her thoughts about Tyreese coming earlier so she could say 'I told you so' now. _Almost,_ because that would just be petty. Instead, she follows behind Daryl when he and Bob enter the building.

"Here we go." Daryl says, approaching the shelf holding car batteries

"Hm, cells look pretty dry." Bob observes. Charlie hasn't the first clue about cars so his words meant nothing to her.

"A little distilled water will clear that right up."

Blowing out a sigh, Charlie looks around and walks through the dark store. There isn't much there, nothing useful anyway, the teenager just distracts herself. She doesn't want to get caught up in her thoughts. "That's puke." She hears Daryl saying and looks over at where he's shining his light on the ground. "Those douchebags in the vines took themselves out, holding hands, kumbaya style."

"They wanted to go out together same as they lived," Bob says. "That make them douchebags?" Charlie doesn't have an opinion on the matter.

"It does if they could've gotten out."

"Everybody makes it, 'till they don't." Charlie pauses at those words, her gaze going down to her worn boots before the teenager lets out a sigh and walks to the door. "People nowadays are dominoes. What they did, maybe it's about not having to watch them fall."

"Right." Charlie barely hears Daryl mumble as she pushes out the door and into the sunlight. It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust, the store was so dark in contrast to the bright, sunny day. There isn't a cloud in sight.

Michonne and Tyreese aren't far away, just enough to talk among themselves without being heard. Bob and Daryl are now by the car, also talking while the latter fixes the vehicle. Charlie is between the two groups by herself, sitting on the ground, her fingers running over the gravel. She has a sick feeling in her gut, thinking about what's going on back home. Just thinking that - home - makes her feel even worse.

A home is something she'd wanted as a kid, more than anything. But as she got older, she stopped believing there was such a thing. For her anyway. She'd stopped believing there was such a place for her. But now, with the prison, she sees she was wrong. And that scares her. Having nothing meant you had nothing to lose. Now she has everything to lose. Her fingers move from the ground and she rests her fingers over the thin fabric on her forearm, where below lies to many black marks. She just hopes she'll never have to add any more.

A sharp whistle pulls Charlie from her thoughts and the girl stands from the ground when Daryl waves her and the others over. He's fixed the car and everyone loads into it. Bob drives with Tyreese riding shotgun. Michonne in the back with Daryl and Charlie in the middle.

Sighing, the teenager leans her head back and closes her eyes and once again grabs her necklace, pulling wolf trinket back and forth over the chain. The weight that pulls at the back of her neck is comforting somehow. The ride is long. Long enough for Charlie to doze off. She hasn't slept well the past few days, she imagines no one has. It isn't until the car hits a pothole, jolting the car that the teenager wakes, her head lifting from where it'd fallen on Daryl's shoulder.

"We're a few minutes out." He informs her and she nods, trying to wake herself up.

When the can slows, Charlie looks out the window, waiting until it's stopped between a few tall building. Must be the veterinarian college where they're getting the meds from. According to Hershel, they're the same ones they use on people.

Climbing out of the car, everyone scans their surroundings, weapons drawn. No walkers are in sight. Tyreese holds a hand-drawn map from Hershel, telling them where to go. They have to walk a bit to get to the correct building, but once they do, they split into two groups to collect everything needed. Daryl, Charlie, and Tyreese go to collect equipment such as bags, tubes, connectors, clamps. Charlie just gets what she's told. She should probably have Hershel teach her something sometime. It'd be useful.

Michonne and Bob collect medicine in another room but the group soon meets up again. "We got everything on the list." Ty informs the others. "You?"

"Yeah, we got it all." Bob nods as Michonne runs her light over the shelf one last time, making sure there's nothing they're missing.

"We're good." She calls and everyone gives a small nod.

"Alright, let's roll." Daryl says and soon everyone is following him out the door. That was easy, Charlie has to physically bite her tongue to prevent the words from spilling out. Rule number one, don't jinx it. The teenager always thinks you have to say the words aloud, but apparently thinking them is enough. As the group walk down the hall, being careful and quiet, they pass by a door when they suddenly hear moans. They pick up their pace down the hall, turning a corner and sneaking into a dark room.

"Hey, doors busted." Bob whisper shouts after he tries to open another door.

"Oh, hold up." Daryl mumbles and moves over to him. He pushes past all the animal cages in the way and tries to open the door unsuccessfully.

"There," Michonne calls out softly when she spots another way out. It's quiet as the group moves forward until literally out of nowhere, a walker jumps forward on Tyreese. He pushes it back, hitting it in the head with a hammer until the corpse falls dead once again. The door Michonne spotted has a chain on it. The woman picks it up to inspect it just as it caves, dead hands reaching their way through the crack, reaching for them. Luckily, the chain holds.

"How many?" Daryl asks, shining his light to try and see through the door.

"Can't tell." Michonne mumbles in response, her own eyes trying to count how many threats lie waiting on the other side.

"Guys," Charlie calls, pointing her own light the way they came to see walkers filling in from that way as well.

"We can take 'em!" Tyreese shouts but Bob quickly cuts him off.

"No! They're infected. Same as at the prison. We fire at 'em, get their blood on us, breathe it in. We didn't come all this way to get sick."

"How do we know the ones in there aren't any different?" Ty questions and Charlie groans in fear and annoyance. Does it matter? They die if they don't do anything now. One problem at a time people.

"We don't." Michonne says, her voice oddly calm.

"Well, it's gotta change sometime," Daryl says, pushing Charlie behind him with a hand on her shoulder before he starts helping break through the chained door. "Ready?"

"Do it!" Tyreese nods, his gun at the ready for when Daryl opens the door, allowing three walkers to stumble in. They're easily dealt with. One with a bullet to the head, the other two by Michonne's sword. Then the group is running again.

They move up a flight of stairs, the only option open to them. It isn't ideal, not being on the ground floor, but they don't have a better choice at the moment. Walkings flood in from behind them and the occasional one appears from a room only to be put down by a member of the group until they reach the end of the hall.

"Don't have an exit." Michonne says after finding the only door locked tight. Daryl tries to kick it down but it doesn't work and he quickly moves to the window.

"Then we make one." Tyreese easily catches onto what he was saying and throws a fire extinguisher at the glass, shattering it. Grabbing Charlie's arm, Daryl lifts her onto the ledge and helps her through the window seal. "Hurry, jump down to the walkway below." Without hesitation, Charlie leaps over the gap between the ground and the walkway's roof, landing a little unsteady before standing and moving aside just as Michonne lands next to her.

Bob is last. He puts a little to much power into his jump and ends up lying on his stomach, arm stretched over the side. Daryl and Tyreese go to help him up when he struggles with the walkers below who hold onto his bag. "Bob, let it go." Michonne calls to the man from where she stays at Charlie's side.

"Let it go, man." Ty repeats while bending down next to him. "Just let it go."

"Let go of the bag!" Daryl finally shouts when he still doesn't let go, pulling harder until they successfully bring Bob and the bag back up. When the beige-colored cloth hits the roof they're standing on, it makes a clank sound. Everyone seems to freeze for a moment until Daryl moves forward, snatching the bag up before Bob can. He pulls out a bottle. Charlie isn't sure what it is exactly but she knows it's alcohol. The teenager doesn't bother repressing her eye roll nor her scoff. He risked their lives for that shit?

"You got no meds in your bag?" Daryl questions, dangerously calm. "Just this? You should've kept walking that day." Charlie once again doesn't know exactly what he means but figures it has something to do with the day Daryl brought Bob back to the prison.

The teenager sighs but tenses when Daryl goes to throw the bottle, only to have Bob reach for his gun. "Don't." She's really starting to not like this dude. Without pausing, Daryl marches over to the man and gets in his face. He doesn't talk but he does take Bob's gun. Charlie almost rolls her eyes again but doesn't. Instead, the teenager waits a moment before moving forward. They really don't have the time for this.

"Daryl, stop." She says, placing a hand on the archer's arm. "He made his choice. It's done. Let's just go."

Looking down at her, Daryl clenches his jaw and gives her a short nod. "I didn't want to hurt nobody," Bob says when Daryl backs off, still not meeting anyone's eyes. Charlie has heard those words come from a drunk man's mouth to many times for them to mean anything anymore. "It was just for when it gets quiet."

"Take one sip. When those meds get in our people, I will beat your ass into the ground. You hear me?" Daryl grumbles to the man, shoving the bottle into his chest. Charlie wishes he'd went with his early plan and just threw it over the side.

He turns away then, placing a soft hand on Charlie's shoulder to guide her away. They all collect their things before heading back to the car.

It's quite the whole way. Charlie thinks about saying something to Daryl but doesn't really know what. She's mad at Bob but Daryl is pissed. When nothing else comes to mind, the teenager reaches out and squeezes his wrist once. He looks down at her but Charlie only purses her lips before turning her gaze back front, her hand dropping back to her side.

"Taking highway hundred," Tyreese informs after he and Michonne go over the map. They'd reached the car without trouble. Thankfully. Daryl now sits in the middle seats with Charlie next to him, twisting the jasper he'd found earlier that day. The car doors are open, allowing them to hear Ty's words.

"I heard," Daryl grumbles, pausing his motions with the stone long enough to close his door while everyone else climbs into the car. It's a long drive back to the prison. Charlie hopes they have no more trouble along the way.

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**They've got the meds, now just to get back to the prison and deliver it to their people. **

**I would really like to know what you guys think of how this story is coming. They way Charlie has changed, her relationship with Daryl and the others. I'm going to try and put more interactions with other characters in futer chapters. Still don't know how I'm going to do the whole Negan thing because it pisses me off to just think about, much less actually write it. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

**Until next time, friends.**

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	18. Six Feet Under

**Words: 1,593**

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Trouble decided to stay away it seemed. The group drive back to the prison with ease. All through the rest of the day and late into the night. They stop once to swap drivers but that's it. Charlie once again falls asleep, her head resting on Daryl's shoulder yet again. The last few days and restless night catch up to the small teenager. She sleeps soundly for most of the ride, only waking when they near home.

Carl runs down in the dark, opening the gate for them. Charlie doesn't notice the downed fence or the walker bodies littering the ground until she jumps from the van. Fear shoots through her but it quickly dissipated. All threats seem to be dead. They need to fix the fences though. And she's itching to hear news on everyone who's sick. But those feelings are pushed aside when a figure not much smaller than her own suddenly hits her side, Carl's arms wrapping around her in a tight hug. Ruffling his hair, Charlie smiles a tired smile before moving on to help patch things up.

Falling asleep later that night isn't difficult. Even with her nap, Charlie is still exhausted. The only thing bothering her is news of Glenn who had stopped breathing on his own but Hershel said with the meds, he thinks he'll pull through just fine. When the sun finally rises over the trees, Charlie is up and helping Michonne load walker corpses into a long bed trailer. "Hell of a past few days, huh?"

Charlie huffs out a laugh and raises her brows in agreement too the woman's words. That sounds like an understatement. But despite that, she feels well-rested. "Need any help?" A new voice asks and Charlie turns to see Rick approaching.

"No," Michonne shakes her head with a smile. "You go do your thing." With everything settling down, Rick has to attend to the crops. Can't let it go to waste.

Rick smiles and nods to Charlie and Michonne before leaving them to finish loading the bodies onto the trailer. "You know what'd be nice?" The girls asks after the final corps is dealt with. "A swimming pool. Like a clean one. A cold one."

"Hmm. A massage." Michonne says in a dreamy voice, closing her eyes, imagining it. "Spa day."

Chuckling, Charlie nods in agreement. "Sounds like heaven."

"It would be." Michonne joins the girl in laughing as they both sit on the side of the trailer to continue meaningless small talk. The truck containing Tyreese and Daryl pull up a little ways away. The two men talk to Hershel when he comes to see them. Charlie catches the archer's eye and sends a small wave, receiving a nod in return before he stalks off to do who knows what.

"How's Glenn?" Charlie asks when Hershel joins them.

"He made it through the night." The white-haired man informes them. "He's breathing on his own now. Maggie and Bob are with him. He seems stable enough for me to get some air." Charlie nods with a relieved sigh at the man's words. Maybe, just maybe, they were catching a break. "Y'all heading out?"

"You wanna come?" Michonne questions with a smile, standing to walk to the driver's side of the jeep.

"Hell, yeah." Hershel agrees, pulling a laugh from Charlie as the teenager climbs into the back of the vehicle, leaving the front seat open for him. Standing in the back of the jeep, Charlie holds onto the bar and squints her eyes when the winds hits her face. Her hair flows from its ponytail out behind her. It's nice, the cold air on her face fighting against the unrelenting heat.

Michonne drives them out just far enough into a clearing where they park. The small group speak a little while removing the bodies they'd loaded up only minutes ago. It takes a bit of time to get them all out, but not as much as it had been to get them all on the trailer in the first place. Charlie stands back as Hershel and Michonne drench the bodies in gasoline, a torch held tightly in her hand, ready to throw it when they back away. If it wasn't a pile of dead bodies, the teenager thinks she'd enjoy the fire.

"Let's head back," Michonne says after a moment, turning to walk back to the jeep, Hershel and Charlie following behind her.

It happens so fast. Charlie is once again reminded of how fast things could turn around. In the blink of an eye, that's all it takes. One second she's smiling at the white-haired man next to her, the next Michonne is lying unconscious on the ground and a gun is being pointed at both her and Hershel, leaving them no room to reach for their own.

The Governor stands a mere ten feet away, his right eye covered with a black patch, gun held high.

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Charlie isn't sure if she wants to scream, cry, or just roll into a ball and never move again. All of the above sound like good options to the teenager. She's sat on the floor of an RV, her hands bound in front of her. Michonne is awake, sitting on the small bench next to the girl, Hershel by the woman's side. Other than the gash on her head, they're all unharmed.

"You should eat," The Governor is saying to them and Charlie grits her teeth together so tightly she fears they might break. "It's gonna be a long day. Nobody's gonna hurt you." The teen can't hold back her quiet scoff at his words. Luckily, no one seems to notice.

"I don't believe that." Hershel says, his voice quiet and calm.

"Well, I don't care." Mr. Pirate reject dismisses the older man's words easily.

"Just tell us what this is." Hershel continues and Charlie takes to chewing her lip. "Please."

"It isn't personal." Another scoff from Charlie, this time she gets a small nudge on the shoulder from Michonne's foot.

"Then what is it?"

"Michonne, I want you to know..." Philip ignores Hershel, keeping his back to them as he stuffs something into a bag. "Penny, my daughter, she was dead, I know that now. I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to hurt anyone. I need the prison that's it." And I need your head on a stick, Charlie thinks to herself and she glares at the back of the man's head. But we don't always get what we want. "There are people I need to keep alive." And what makes them any more important than the people already at the prison? "You three are gonna help me take it. No one needs to die."

"I'm gonna kill you." Michonne states as if she was mentioning the weather. Calm and collected. Charlie admires that about her.

"No, you won't."

"I'm gonna take my-"

"Stop it." Hershel cuts her off before she can say anything else. "You want the prison?"

"Yeah. And I'll take it as peacefully as I can."

"Governor-"

"Don't call me that."

"Your people, our people, we can find a way to live together." Hershel, always the reasonable one. "These people you need to keep alive, do you love them?"

"You're a good man, Hershel." Philip ignores Hershel's question once more. "A better man than Rick." And they say women hold grudges.

"Everything you've said, the way you've said it, you've changed." Charlie believes people can change, she really does. But not all people. Not this man. "So has Rick."

"The two of us will never be able to live together." Something we agree on, Charlie thinks. She's come to realize she does that a lot when she's nervous. "Michonne and I, we'll never be able to live together."

"We'll find a way."

"I found a way!" Philip raises his voice, finally turning to face them. Charlie will never admit to flinching. "I'm trying hard. There are all kinds of ways I could do this. This way you get to live and I get to be..." The man trails off, standing from his seat and marching to the door.

"You say you want to take this prison as peacefully as possible." The Governor pauses when Hershel's speaks, turning at the door to look at the man. "That means you'd be willing to hurt people to get it. My daughters would be there. That's who you'd be hurting. If you understand what it's like to have a daughter, then how can you threaten to kill someone else's?"

"Because they aren't mine."

"Yeah, don't bother, Hershel," Charlie's voice flows from her mouth before the teenager can stop it. "Men like him only see things one way, no amount of talking is going to change that." She doesn't look at anyone present, only keeps her head up, staring at the wall across from her until she hears the flimsy door shut, signaling the man's exit. "The only place for a person like him is six feet under." She doesn't even think he deserves that. No grave, no burial of any kind. Only a bullet to the chest.

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**He's not even worth a bullet if you ask me. But anyway! Hope you guys are excited for the next chapter. I have a lot written actually, I'm just going back and adding some stuff in the last few, trying to make it a little better I suppose. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed this one, I'd love to know your thoughts on it! Reviews are always welcomed!**

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	19. No Happy Endings

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Words: 3,572**

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The grass is wet when Charlie's knees hit the ground. It's an odd thing to notice at a time like this. When her wrists are tied behind her back. Two of her family members in the same position beside her. People with guns surrounding them. Threatening her home.

"Come down here," Philip says just loud enough for Rick to hear from across the prison's field. "Let's have that talk."

She hadn't been able to look up. The entire time she sat their, kneeling, the teenager kept her eyes downcast. Until she can't anymore. It's difficult to make them out, but Charlie can see who's gathered around the fence just outside the prison. Maggie and Beth. Carl, Rick, Tyreese, Sasha. And Daryl. He's staring right at her, she can tell. It's only then she realizes she's shaking.

Rick is walking down the path, she can see from the corner of her eye but now that she'd found his form, Charlie can't remove her eyes from the archer. It was only three days ago she sat next to him, safely curled into his side. What she wouldn't give to be back there right now.

"Let 'em go, right now." Is the first thing Rick says when he reaches the bottom of the field. He sounds out of breath, Charlie distantly notes, she doesn't think it's from his walk. He's scared. "I'll stay down here. Talk as long as you want. But you let 'em go. You got a tank, you don't need hostages." Right, who could forget the giant tank behind them?

"I do." The Governor states simply. "This is just to show you I'm serious." Really? Charlie once again thinks to herself, I would've thought you were only joking if you didn't have a mother trucking tank. "Not to blast a hole in our new home." She wants to scream so badly. Yell at him that this isn't his home, it's theirs. He doesn't deserve it. "You and your people, you have until sundown to get out of here or they die." Cue nod towards hostages.

"Doesn't have to go down this way," Rick argues, fidgeting on his feet.

"I got more people, more firepower." There's a small chuckle in Philip's words and Charlie suppresses a shudder. "We need this prison. There it is. It's not about the past. It's about right now."

"There are children here." Charlie looks over and meets Rick's eyes. She almost thinks he's going to say something to her, about her, but he clamps his mouth shut and shakes his head before continuing. "Some of them are sick, they won't survive."

"I have a tank." Really? Hadn't noticed. "And I'm letting you walk away from here. What else is there to talk about?"

"I could shoot you all." Philip continues when Rick stays silent. "You'd all shoot back. I know that. But we'll win and you'll be dead. All of you."

Charlie can't help but think they should just leave, while they still can. But really all she wants to do is sink her knife into his one good eye. She's wanted to hurt people before, she won't try to hide that fact, but outright kill someone was new to the teen. She remembers how she felt after shooting that man in the store what feels like years ago now. Everything she felt after doing that, she remembers vividly. But it doesn't matter now. If she has the chance, she doesn't think she'd hesitate to do the same to the Governor. Charlie isn't sure how to feel about it. But she knows she's scared and she knows she's angry.

"Doesn't have to be like that. Like I said, it's your choice." A walker snarling follows behind the man's words, Charlie turns her head slowly to see two approaching from the distance. They don't worry her.

Three gunshots rang out and Charlie can't stop herself from jumping in surprise. The noise came from behind her but she doesn't turn to see who shot. "Noise will only draw more of them over. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to get out of here." But then he'll have to deal with a shit tone of walkers?

Rick once again doesn't say anything for a while, his head bobs up and down but he's not nodding. His hand rests easily over his gun. Charlie isn't sure if he's even blinking. "Got, maybe, and hour of sunlight left. I suggest you start packing."

Another moment of silence. Rick looks to Hershel, the man gives him a nod so small it's barely noticeable.

"The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be for you to get out of here." He's starting to sound like a broken record.

"We can all-" Rick finally speaks but cuts himself off with a forced deep breath. "We can all live together. There's enough room for all of us."

"More than enough." Philip nods, the small smile never slipping from his face. "But I don't think my family will sleep well knowing that you were under the same roof." His words make Charlie clench her jaw shut even tighter. Who the hell does this guy think he is?

"We'd live in different cell blocks." Rick supplies, throwing his arm out in a gesture towards the prison. "We'd never have to see each other, till we're all ready."

"It could work," Hershel speaks for the first time, twisting his head to try and look up at the Governor. "You know it could."

"It could've," Philip says. "But it can't. Not after Woodbury. Not after Andrea." He's got these people convinced he's the good guy. Charlie mentally hits herself for not figuring that out sooner, it's so obvious. He's painted them as the villains so they'll do whatever he says.

"Look, I'm not saying it's gonna be easy." Rick continues. "Fact is, it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder than standing here shooting at each other. But I don't think we have a choice."

"We don't, you do."

"We're not leaving. You try and force us, we'll fight back. Like you said, the gunshots will just bring more of them out. They'll take down the fences. Without the fences, this place is worthless. Now, we can all live in prison or none of us can."

The sound of Philip climbing off the tank makes Charlie tense. Even more so the sound of metal scraping against metal. She knows that sound even without looking, but it doesn't matter if she does or doesn't because, in the next moment, Hershel has Michonne's katana pressed against his neck.

The teenager's breath hitches but she can't move her eyes away. Hershel looks so calm. That makes her angry for some reason. She wants to scream, cry, yell. She wants everything to stop.

"You," Rick says, his voice shakier and more desperate than it had been before. "You in the ponytails." He points to a girl standing between the vehicles. "Is this what you want? Is this what any of you want?"

"What we want, is what you got." A new, raspy voice calls out. "Period. Time for you to leave, asshole."

"Look, I fought him before. And after, we took in his old friends. They've become leaders in what we have here. Now you put down your weapons, walkthrough those gates...you're one of us. We let go, of all of it and nobody dies. Everyone who's alive right now. Everyone who's made it this far. We've all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive. But we can still come back. We're not to far gone. We get to come back. I know...we all can change."

Silence falls over them after Rick's final word. Charlie feels the tiniest spark of hope that maybe his words got to them. Maybe it would work. Hope is a funny thing, though. So hard to find yet so easy to lose.

"Liar."

Charlie doesn't know if she screams. The sudden ringing in her ears is so loud, she can't hear anything else. Can't see anything else other than the sword coming down and cutting through Hershel's neck.

When the gunshots start, Charlie snaps back to herself. She ducks and rolls out of the way as quickly as she can with her bound hands. There are many cars around, brought by the Governors people. She takes shelter behind one of them and lies on her back, pulling her arms under her legs and in front of her.

The teenager then looks around for Michonne through her blurry eyes. She could've sworn the woman was right behind her but now all she can see are people she doesn't know shooting and walkers quickly approaching.

She doesn't know what to do. The events that just occurred still aren't being processed. She has no weapons, her hands are tied. Bullets are flying everywhere and walkers are surrounding her.

Before she knows it, people are jumping into the cars. The tank is moving forward, plowing over the fence. No one comes near the far end car she's hiding behind, but as the others move forward, Charlie moves back. The walkers finally noticed her.

She has to help. That's all she can think. But she can't. She can't even get the damn rope off from around her wrists. She tries pulling them so much she bleeds, there's nothing sharp around to cut them. She doesn't see another option. As much as she hates herself for doing so, Charlie turns and rans.

There's a break in the walkers, leading into the forest. The teenager runs as fast as she can, a little off balance with her hands still held together. The gunshots are still loud in her ears, as well as the ringing. She trips. Over her own feet or a root, Charlie isn't sure, all she knows is that she's suddenly on the ground. The teenager looks over her shoulder as she climbs back up, she hasn't been down long but the walkers who chose to follow are gaining on her, a few stumbling between the trees, attracted by the gunfire.

Charlie's shoulder's heave as she pants for air. But she can't stop running, they'll catch up to her if she does. She's finally putting some distance between them when she hits a road. The asphalt is hard under her shoes, a stark contrast from the soft forest floor.

Pausing to catch her breath for only a second, Charlie looks in both directions. She doesn't know which way to go. She has no idea what she's doing. She knows she needs to get her hands undone, find a weapon. The others at the prison, she needs to...

Bending over as if in pain, Charlie wills herself not to break down and chooses the way she thinks best. She starts to jog, she doesn't want to give the walkers a chance to get any closer. The rope around her wrists is digging painfully into her flesh. It's tuff, she tries breaking it with her teeth but can't even loosen the knots.

As she had thought, a gas station appears in the distance. She hadn't been sure but she's thought she'd recognized a sign on the road. There had to be something in there to help her get her hands free. Luckily there are no walkers around. All of them had been drawn away by the noise at the prison. Charlie hasn't seen one for a while, she hopes when they lost sight of her, they stopped coming her way.

Overexertion makes the teenager feel like she's going to throw up her breakfast from that morning. She has to clench her jaw shut and forcefully swallow while trying to catch her breath. It'd been a long time since she's run like that.

The gas station is small, the doors already open. They've been by it so many times, cleared it of anything really useful. Charlie isn't expecting any threats to be lurking inside but the teenager still creeps in cautiously. Paper and other trash crinkle under her boots. The room is dark, quiet. Shelves that come to her chin line the room, blocking her view from much of it. They're mostly empty, anything that's left is beyond ruined, nothing useful.

Once she's sure the small building is empty, Charlie takes to searching for anything to cut the ropes. A window towards the back of the store is broken. Shards of glass standing out. It takes time and an almost cut wrist later, but Charlie soon finds herself rubbing her raw, but free, wrists.

It doesn't take long for Charlie to search the store and, unsurprisingly, she finds nothing. Once again she comes back to the fact that she doesn't know what to do. She can't hear gunshots anymore and she isn't sure if that's because they'd stopped or the blood rushing through her ears is blocking out the noise.

Squeezing the sores on her wrists, Charlie forces herself to take long, deep breaths. This is not the time to panic, she has to do something, find the others. Are there others anymore? Did they make it out? Are they dead?

Groaning, Charlie buries the heels of her hands into her eyes. She doesn't know what to do, but standing here isn't it. Moving her shaky feet forward, Charlie exits the gas station only to the pulled back. The teenager lets out a surprised yelp but the noise comes out muffled by the hand over her mouth.

"Stop strugglin'." A familiar, gruff voice says into the girl's ear and she instantly relaxes, as do the arms around her.

"Shit." Charlie breathes out when she pushes out of the man's arms, turning to look up at him. He's the last person she expected to see. "Damn it, Merle."

"Ya wanna tell me what the hell is goin' on?"

"Holy shit." The teenager mumbles again, lifting her hands to run over her face. "The-the Governor," She whispers just loud enough for him to hear. She can feel her voice trembling, she fears if she speaks any louder, she won't be able to hold back the tears that have been threatening to spill. "He came back."

"He had me, Michonne and Hershel." She continues best she can, spouting out the first words that come to mind. "Oh, go- Hershel. He killed him. He's dead and I don't know if the others-"

"Hey! Look at me." Merle snaps at the teenager. He isn't trying to be mean but now isn't the time for her to panic, he needs answers. "Tell me what happened."

"He had people, and-and a t-tank." Charlie wants to question where the hell he got a tank, probably would have if she didn't just see said tank aid in the destruction of her home and all the people in it. "They started shooting, walkers chased me off. I just ran, I didn't help them."

With some very colorful language, Merle sweeps his eyes over their surroundings. He'd been on his way back to the prison. The trail had gone cold long ago but he kept going. Even when Michonne came back. They'd argued about it but he'd won out. This shit was his fault, he hadn't planned on stopping until he found the bastard. But it had been time to come back, at least for a little while, catch up with the others, fill up on supplies. Imagine his surprise to find this instead.

"I don't know who's alive," Charlie starts speaking again, more to herself than the man in front of her. "We have to go back-"

"I didn't take you for being stupid." Merle grumbles and Charlie's eyes snap up to his face. "I got a handgun with three bullets and a knife. You got nothin'. Only thing that'll happen if we go back into that war zone is both of us will be dead."

Even though she knows he's right, Charlie shakes her head and clenches her teeth. Those are their people back there, she can't just sit around while they're all slaughtered. But what can she do, really?

"What do we do?" She hates it, looking to him like this. It makes her feel weak, unable to take care of herself. There was a time in Charlie's life when she was the only one who looked out for her. She's the one who looks out for the smaller children and they looked to her. But this is an entirely different situation. She has no idea what to do now.

"Shit," Merle curses, eyes still taking in their surroundings before he motions for her to follow him inside. Charlie glances over her shoulder in the direction of the prison before following him. "Here," Grabbing her hand, Merle forces a knife into her palm before turning away again, searching the small building.

Charlie stares down at the blade, a numbness seeping into her bones. She'd run. She had just run away, hadn't helped. Hadn't- hadn't'- Charlie jumps when Merle makes a loud noise by jumping over the cashier counter and kicking in the back room's door. It's a small storage room, Charlie watches him disappear into the darkness before he reappears a moment later.

"Pick up those feet, little lady, come're," Charlie inhales suddenly - she hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath - and walks over to him. "Take this," A flashlight is shoved into her hands this time. "Stay here, don't move."

"Where are you going?" Charlie questions when he starts walking out of the room, following after him.

"Where do ya think?"

"I'm coming with you."

"The hell you are," Stopping, Merle spins on his heel and Charlie takes a step back when she sees the expression on his face. "You're gonna sit your ass down in there and wait for me to come back."

Panting, Charlie looks behind her to the dark storage room and then outside. She wants to protest, go with him anyway but if the look he's giving her tells her anything, it's that he'll tie her up and lock her in the room before he lets that happen. "You better come back," Charlie grumbles and steps back, motioning for him to go.

"Didn't realize you liked me so much, princess." She knows what he's trying to do but she's not having any of it and Merle sees that. He nods once before disappearing out the door.

Biting her lips closed, Charlie screams quietly into her mouth before moving back into the storage room but she doesn't close the door. She slides down the wall opposite of it and watches, drawing her knees to her chest.

Tears fall down her cheeks and she bites her lip hard enough to draw blood to stop the sobs that climb up her throat. She pushes them down with everything she has, refusing to let them escape.

The pain from her teeth digging into her soft flesh distracts her from the panic creeping up just enough for her to breathe. Breathe enough, anyway. Her chest heaves for air and Charlie closes her eyes, throwing her head into the wall behind her over and over. She'll regret giving herself a headache later.

Charlie slaps a hand over her mouth when an intense wave of nausea hits her. There's not much in her stomach to begin with but it doesn't matter. In seconds, the teenager is leaning over the old box next to her, spitting up her breakfast and bile.

Spitting multiple times when she's finished, Charlie wipes her mouth and falls back against the wall, boneless. Her eyelids droop but she forces them to stay open, keeping her eyes trained on what little bit of the sky that she can see. It's getting dark, Merle still isn't back. She can't hear anything. No gunshots, no walkers, nothing.

The silents eats away at her, a tingling running over her limbs until finally, she hears something. Footsteps, rushed, one pair. She tenses at first, that could be anyone. An enemy or a friend. Charlie's shoulders drop when she sees it's the latter.

Scrambling to her feet, Charlie opens her mouth but Merle shakes his head. The pit in her stomach opens up once again and Charlie feels as if she's drowning.

* * *

**Merle is back!**

**Uh, yeah. Welp, at least Charlie isn't on her own, right?**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Love to know what you think of it.**

**Until next time, friends.**

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'-'


	20. Easier Said Than Done

**I just got a new job so writing will probably be slower though I do have some chapters after this already written so you guys won't even notice for a bit unless I forget to update.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Words: 1,974**

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They spend the night in the gas station. Merle orders her to get some rest and Charlie tries, she does, but is unable to bring herself too. Despite the pure exhaustion she feels coursing through her body, her mind refuses to shut off. Merle doesn't sleep either.

The sun rises in the sky slowly. When it's light enough to see, Merle stands. Charlie's head whips around at the noise, her heart jumping after sitting in silence all night. He motions for her to follow.

The prison is gone. There's nothing left. No one left. Merle had told her as much after he got back. It's a graveyard now, left to the walkers. Their home, gone. Another home just gone.

While walking around the counter, Charlie swipes a lone pen that somehow survived and shoves it into her back pocket.

"Best find some food, sooner rather than later," Merle starts when they enter the cool morning air. Charlie takes a deep breath. The stench of death is everywhere, she's not sure there's a place not tainted by it but at least it's not so stuffy. "Ya know how to hunt?"

Sighing, Charlie bites the inside of her cheek. "How are we supposed to hunt with a knife and three bullets?" She questions, unfazed by the way he slowly turns to her, the condescending look on his face. "Guns to loud and we shouldn't waste the bullets. And I don't know about you but my aim with a knife isn't that good."

Rolling his eyes, Merle grumbles to himself and starts walking again. Charlie thinks about traps but those will take a long time if they even get anything. Daryl taught her how to set them...he'll never teach her anything else again, will he? She thinks and her stomach flips around inside of her.

Shaking her head, Charlie continues forward, footsteps light. Merle is too stubborn anyway, he'd probably never agree to traps. That man will die before his pride is hurt. They'll have to scavenge even if he doesn't like it.

Charlie doesn't realize that she keeps glancing over her shoulder every few minutes until Merle tells her to stop. She looks up at him but his eyes stay glued to the path in front of them. "It's gone," He tells her. "Not coming back. No point in looking for ghosts."

Charlie wipes the single tear that falls from her eye before he can see it.

The houses they come upon are small. Charlie thinks they've been through here before but she's not sure. She hasn't seen them personally but it's close enough that she doesn't doubt it's been looted already. But it's better than nothing.

Merle chooses a house at random. Or not, Charlie doesn't ask if it's a conscious choice or not, she only follows silently as he slowly creeps inside. She pulls out her knife and with one glance over her shoulder, enters behind him.

Unsurprisingly, it's clear. Merle takes that as a sign that the others are as well and doesn't bother keeping quiet as he looks through things, throwing stuff to the ground. Charlie watches, face blank before she goes into another room and searches herself, much more quietly.

When her stomach growls, begging for food, Charlie places her hand over it. She sighs, her heavy shoulders dropping. They have water, at least.

"Ain't shit here, let's go," Merle says as he moves past the room she's in and heads outside. Charlie waits a few seconds before following him, her feet dragging behind her. She stops on the porch and watches lazily as Merle beats in the head of a lone walker.

"Shouldn't have made so much noise," She mumbles to him, walking by without a glance and into the next house.

"You tryin' to get yourself killed?" Merle spins her around with a hand on her shoulder but Charlie slaps it away, her face pinching up with different emotions. Annoyance, anger, grief, fear, take your pick.

"Didn't know you cared," She snarls right back at him.

"Hey, stop bein' stupid," Merle whisper-shouts but Charlie shakes her head, forcing her lips into a smile.

"Stupid? You mean like this!" She yells suddenly, her voice bouncing off the walls around them. Merle's own lips pull back but not in amusement and he steps forward quickly, stopping himself when Charlie flinches back. "Sorry." She whispers, and he sighs through his nose before moving into the next room.

Charlie clenches and unclenches her fists over and over, rolling her shoulder against the tightness settling in there. She searches the room.

In the end, after all the houses are searched, they find little food. But it's something.

Sitting on a couch in the last house, Charlie feels her eyes drooping now that her stomach isn't aching with hunger.

"Stay 'ere for the night," Merle's voice snaps her from the brink of sleep. She doesn't argue, just settles down more, and stares at him.

"Why'd you wait so long to come back?"

"Don't matter now," He says after a moment with a shake of his head.

"I still want to know," Charlie thinks it does still matter, something has to, but she decides against voicing those thoughts.

Merle's head lazily turns towards her, sliding against the wall he's leaning against. He chews his lip before looking back out the window. "You saw how it was when I was there," He gestures in front of him towards nothing and Charlie knows he means the prison. "Couldn't be."

"It was different, after..."

"Nah," Merle shakes his head. This is the most...calm? she's ever seen him. It's almost unsettling. "Just seemed like that. The governor...thought maybe I could finally clean up one of my messes." He laughs but there's no humor behind it. "Look how that turned out, huh?"

"Maybe some got away," Merle only shakes his head. "We don't know that they didn't." She has to hold onto that, has to believe it because if she doesn't then...what else does she have? "Maybe Dary-"

"Go to sleep, kid," Merle cuts her off, eyes still forward, voice sharp. Charlie sighs but lies on her back and closes her eyes.

When sleep evades her for a little too long, the teenager pulls the pen from her pocket and rolls up her left sleeve. She runs the pad of her thumb over the tally marks resting permanently there before uncapping the pen. She finds the empty spot next to the others and draws another four small lines to join them.

* * *

Charlie wakes with a start. She gasps quietly when her eyes snap open, her dream fading before she can grasp onto it. She doesn't want to remember it, anyway. Sighing, Charlie turns her head to see Merle sitting in the same place he was early. She doesn't think he's moved at all.

The sun has set, leaving the outside world dark, the only light provided by the full moon and the stars.

"You can sleep," Charlie whispers into the darkness. She's awake now, no way she'll find sleep again tonight. Even if she can't remember her dream, the anxious feeling still lingers. Merle hums but he makes no move to do any such thing. Charlie sighs. "Definitely a Dixon," She mutters under her breath. "I don't feel like dragging your ass around because you're too damn stubborn to sleep for a few hours. Now, set aside your massive ego for two seconds and sleep."

Merle huffs, finally turning to look at her, his eyes squinted against the dull lighting. "When'd you get so mouthy?"

"When I realized the company I keep is too stupid for his own good."

"Watch it," He says but there's no real heat behind his words. "Not gonna leave a smartass teenager as the only thing between me and any threat out there."

"And when you pass out from exhaustion, this smart-ass teenager will leave you lying on the cold, hard ground." She wouldn't do that, she knows it and he knows it but it gets him to move. Rolling his eyes, Merle takes her place on the couch passing her his gun before she takes his vacated place on the floor.

"If I die because of you, I'll haunt your ass," He mumbles while shifting into a more comfortable position.

"Yeah, yeah," Charlie waves him off, eyes glued to out the window and to the street. When a low grumbling sound reaches her ears, Charlie slowly turns her head towards Merle. She didn't know he snored.

Rubbing her eyes, Charlie checks the gun clip, counting the three bullets over and over as if it would make more appear. She thinks she sees a walker stumbling down the street at one point but she's not sure if it's real or not. It leaves, so she figures it doesn't matter. Most of them were drawn to the prison by all the noise, the roads and woods around here are probably empty right now.

She watches the sunrise, peeking its way through the trees. Waking Merle ends up being no problem, the man's snoring abruptly cuts off and he sits up, taking in his surroundings.

"You snore, you know that?" Charlie says without looking at him but she sees him stand in the corner of her eye. A water bottle hits her thigh and she picks it up but doesn't drink any.

"Take it. I'm not dragging your ass when you pass out from thirst." Charlie rolls her eyes when he throws her own words back at her but she takes a drink. "Let's go." Grabbing her newly acquired bag, Charlie climbs to her feet and follows after him, handing him his gun back. An extra knife is the only other weapon they've found.

"Where are we going?" Charlie finally asks the question that's been bothering her, picking up her pace to walk by his side.

"We're going," Is the only answer she gets and the teenager throws her arms out to the side.

"We should at least look for the others, someone had to have made it out."

"They're dead," Merle snaps but his shoulders drop when Charlie flinches at his words. "Just how do you suggest we go about finding someone."

"We go back to the prison, we find a trail and follow it," Charlie gestures in the opposite direction they're walking in, back towards their home. What was their home. "Thought you were supposed to be a tracker."

"I am," Merle states sternly. "Ain't nothing _to_ track."

"He's your brother!" Charlie starts to shout but lowers her voice. She points behind her, blinking away the liquid that fills her eyes. "He's _my brother_! That's my _family!_ You can't expect me to just leave and do _nothing._ We have to at least try!" Merle chews the inside of his cheek and stares down at her, gaze unwavering. "My whole life I've searched for what I just lost. I'm not just going to walk away from that, I'm going to fight to get it back. Because they are out there, they are alive. And we're going to find them."

"Easier said than done," Merle says after a moment and lets out a deep breath through his nose. "Let's go." Changing directions, Merle walks behind her, back towards the prison. Charlie's lips twitch and she quickly follows.

* * *

**The quarry, CDC, the farm and the prison. I did debate on whether or not to do those first two, but I got to thinking and even though they weren't there as long as the other places, they were still places to Charlie. Places she stayed, lived. Homes, in a way like before. To her, there's no difference.**

**I really like these interactions with Merle and Charlie. They're great. **

**Anyway, thanks again for reading! Would love to know what you thought of this chapter!**

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	21. Four to Two

**Thanks for reading! **

**Words: 1,296**

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They find a trail. Footprints in the mud. Charlie tries not to get her hopes up but she knows they're from a human, to clean to belong to a walker. And they're leading away from the prison, all the undead are still milling around down there, why would a few of them suddenly just leave?

Charlie would love it if they came across a working car even if she knows it'll never happen. Her feet and back hurt. She's gotten used to rest, a bed to sleep in every night. Not having to worry every second of the day. That was her mistake. She never should've let it happen. Getting comfortable now days is dangerous.

Weapons would be a better find. She feels so exposed out here with nothing more than a knife. Food sounds good as well. They're rationing what they have which is smart but it doesn't mean she's not still hungry. Charlie keeps these complaints to herself.

Charlie almost runs into Merle's back when he stops. The teenager shakes her head, snapping herself out of her thoughts. "What?"

"Hm, lost it," He mumbles before pushing leaves around, trying to find the prints they'd been following.

"I think there's a main road a few miles that way," Charlie points and Merle follows her finger. "Maybe...maybe...I don't know."

"Best thing we got," Merle shrugs and they set off in that directions while keeping a close eye out for...anything.

They reach the road but don't walk out onto it. They stay on the edge of the forest for cover and walk beside it, never letting it out of their sight. After a while, they take a break next to a run-down car. It holds nothing useful, unsurprisingly.

Charlie sits on the ground, her back leaning against one of the car's tires. Maybe she should've gotten more sleep last night, she's already tired. That's what she blames the fact that she didn't hear them on.

One second, it's just her and Merle catching their breath. The next, there are four guns pointed at them.

"Looky what we got here," One of the men says. Merle moves around the car as Charlie jumps to her feet. He puts himself in front of her, gun tucked into the waistband of his pants.

Merle raises his arms slightly and lets out a chuckle. "Don't want no trouble."

"No?" Another man speaks up and steps forward. "Well, that's just to bad, because we do."

"Well, hold on now," Third guy motions the other one to back down, leaning to the side to see around Merle and to Charlie. "Watch your manners, there's a lady present."

Charlie loses track but one of the men whistles while rocking back and forth on his heels. "Pretty lady."

Chills spill down the teenager's spine, her eyes glued to the person who'd spoken but it's dragged away when Merle turns his attention to her. He keeps the four men in his sight light.

"Listen to me, sis," He whispers quickly. "Run, don't stop, don't look back. You run and you do not stop." Charlie shakes her head, eyebrows furrowed. "I'll keep 'em here," He ignores her while pushing her back slightly. "Go, kid," He turns to face her fully now, grabbing her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "Go. Find my baby brother."

"No-"

"Run!" Merle shouts and pushes her away from him, spinning just in time to punch one of the men in the face. Everything inside of her is screaming for her to run away from the danger but at the same time, it's telling her to stay, help what could be the last person she has left in this world.

In a split-second decision, Charlie runs. She hates herself for it but when gunshots fill the air, all thoughts stop, her mind only focused on her legs carrying her away. She barely even registers the sharp pain shooting through her arm when a voice shouts from behind her. "You can run little lady but we'll find you!"

When she thinks the gunshots have stopped, Charlie keeps running but jumps when she hears another one. Then a pause before two more. She slides to a stop and looks back, waiting. Another shot rings out and her heart drops into her stomach. She waits, listens.

Raised voices reach her ears and she runs.

* * *

Charlie doesn't know how much time has passed. She's sure it's been a day because it got really dark for a while but she hasn't stopped moving. Her legs had given out on her after running for so long and she'd fallen to the forest floor, panting heavily. The graze on her arm has stopped bleeding. She's in a way, grateful for it, the pain keeps the panic she feels creeping up on her down.

A few walkers have wandered their way onto her path. Unlucky for them, they're dead now.

Hunger gnaws at her, her mouth runs dry. She has little water left and no food, only her knife to protect herself. But she keeps going.

The woods feel much larger when you walk through them for hours on end without coming across anything but more trees. Despite this, Charlie keeps going.

A tune from an old kids movie she saw once pops into her mind. Charlie mumbles it to herself. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming," A snort escapes her and she drags her feet to a stop, eyes glued to the leaves below her. Just when she's starting to think she's losing her mind, a noise reaches her ears.

Head perking up, Charlie looks around for the source of the sound. Heart speeding up, she turns towards her best guess and trudges through the trees, listening to the sound of running water increase until her boots stop right beside a small stream.

Dropping to her knees, Charlie removes the bag from her shoulders and fishes out the two bottles. She fills the empty one, careful not to disturb the dirt below the water. It's clear enough, she wonders if she needs to boil it but she shakes her head. Not like she has anything to do that with anyway.

Taking the last few sips of her water, she places it under the stream to fill the bottle like before. Sighing, Charlie looks around herself before falling back. The sun shines through the trees, highlighting parts of the ground. It's much cooler in the woods, especially by the water. Sweat still coats her clothes, causing them to stick to her skin.

Tears are escaping her eyes and before she realizes, she's crying. She places a hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds. She tries not to think about it but by doing that, she ends up thinking about it. About everything. The prison is gone but that's not what's crushing her. She's lost homes before, moved from place to place since she can remember. But she never had a family before so she's never lost one. But now...now she's lost everything.

Catching her breath, Charlie forces herself up and splashes water in her face. She refuses to believe that they're gone. They can't all be gone, they're out there somewhere and she's going to find them or she'll die trying. That may be a little dramatic but, what else is she going to do?

Throwing her bag over her shoulder, Charlie pushes herself to her feet once more and keeps going.

* * *

**Yeah...sorry. I brought Merle back just to do that to him. I'm a horrible person. Cause I do like Merle, I think he just got dealt a bad hand. Or he lost one. To soon? Sorry. **

**But yup, Charlie is on her own now. So many possibilities of what could happen. I've already gotten it all written out. If you guys would like quicker updates, just let me know!**

**Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!**

**Until next time, friends.**

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**'-'**


	22. All To Keep Going

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Words: 1,763**

* * *

One day turns into two, two into four, four into eight. Yay math. Charlie misses math. A lot of kids don't like school but Charlie often found herself wanting to be nowhere else. Maybe it's because wherever she was living was so much worse than multiplying and fractions. Fractions were fun. She really misses her bow, too. Or the feeling, the comfort, of a rifle held between her hands. She misses her family.

"Stop it," The teenager mumbles to herself and shakes her head. Knocking on a closed door, Charlie waits moment and slowly opens it when she hears nothing, knife raised and ready. The bedroom is empty, it's not hard to see.

Charlie throws her backpack onto the bed after closing the door behind her. She surveys the room once before searching it, looking for anything she can use.

The dresser makes a loud noise when she slides it in front of the door. Removing the gun from her waistband, Charlie sets it onto the nightstand before sitting on the bed. It's a vz 15 pistol. She only knows that because the loose floorboard she found it under had a manual along with a box of ammo. She got lucky there.

Grabbing the wolf pendant around her kneck, Charlie releases a breath and lies back onto the bed and closes her eyes.

A noise is what wakes her an unknown amount of time later. It takes the teenager a moment to realize that and when she does, she slides onto the floor and grabs her gun. She quiets her breathing to listen and reaches for her bag, sliding it onto her shoulders.

The noises are coming from downstairs. Someones in the house. There are more people out here than she ever thought. It's not comforting knowledge. Footsteps on the stairs has Charlie moving. She rushes towards the windows and unlocks one, struggling to pull it open. It's painted over but she feels it budging slowly.

When someone tries to open the bedroom door, she ducks beside the dresser.

"Hey, this door is blocked!" An unfamiliar voice calls out. Charlie feels her heart jumping into the throat and she forces herself to take a quiet, deep breath.

"Then push it open!" Another, more distant voice shouts back.

"You don't think I'm trying!?" The first voice shouts back and Charlie moves back towards the window, using all her strength to wrench it open as the man slowly pushes the dresser out of the way with the door.

Without glancing over her shoulder, Charlie climbs out onto the roof, closes the window, and moves out of the way just in time. She's sure if he'd seen her, he would've said something.

Charlie keeps her back as close to the wall as she can get it and creeps along the edge. She doesn't see anyone else on the street, she imagines they're - however many there are - all in the house. Maybe one on the porch. She really doesn't want to stick around long enough to find out.

"Find something?" Their voices are more muffled now but Charlie can still make them out through the thin walls.

"It was blocked from the inside, no other exit," Charlie scrambles to hold on when her foot slips and stands back up. "Check the roof." Eyes widening, Charlie ducks around the corner, nearly falling once again.

"Shit," The teenager whispers to herself. She'd just wanted to sleep for a bit, is that too much to ask?

"Nothin'."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure, damn it. Look for youself." Or don't, Charlie nearly says out loud.

It's not a short jump but what other choice does she have? She can't go back inside and she's not just going to hang out on the roof until they decide to move on. Who knows how long that'll be and they could still find her.

Charlie peeks into all the windows before she passes them. The roof dips lowest over the back yard. Sliding towards the edge, Charlie closes her eyes and listens. She tries to look under the roof but nearly falls and instead maps out her rout with her eyes.

"Okay," She whispers to herself and throws her legs over the edge. She tenses as if waiting for something to happen but nothing does. "Just count to three. Or down from three. Stop stalling." With a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth, Charlie grips the edge of the roof. "One, two...three."

When her feet his the ground, Charlie falls onto her side, groaning. She pulls herself up and sets her back against the bottom of the porch and waits, listening. Satisfied that she hasn't been found out, the teenager creeps around the house to where there are no windows that will allow her to be seen from inside.

Rounding the corner, Charlie stops short, eyes widening. With all her stealthy peeking through windows and everything, you think she would've looked around the wall before blinding moving.

The man sees her, eyes widening in surprise himself.

"I don't suppose we can pretend like this never happened?" Her words only seem to further confuse the man but he shakes his head, snapping out of his stupor and he steps forward. The silent type then.

Charlie reaches for her gun a second too late. The man gets to her first, twisting them around until he has a knife to her neck. She has the gun and he still has the upper hand. Charlie will beat herself up over that later. If she gets out of this.

"Hey, boys, get out here!" He yells and Charlie winces, her heart beating heavily behind her ribs. Her hands grab the man's wrist. Think, Charlie, think. A deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth, Charlie listens to disgruntled shouts and approaching footsteps inside. "You'll never believe-"

The man is cut off by a grunt when Charlie manages to lift her foot and hit him between the legs. Though she herself doesn't get out unscathed, the knife nicks her neck, splitting her skin. Another feeling hits her neck but it's gone as soon as it comes. Charlie barely notices as she spins around to face the man, finally managing to get her gun up and point it at him.

"What's all the ruckus about?" A tired sounding voice asks lazily. Charlie looks to the back porch and to the man still hunched over and does the only thing she can. She runs.

The tree line isn't far. Charlie rushes towards it and doesn't look back. Not even when she hears the raised voices of many people behind her. In a very cliché manner, Charlie trips over something, a root, she guesses, and almost face plants.

Scrambling to her feet, Charlie holds tight to her gun and pushes forward, glancing over her shoulder when she hears those people gaining on her. Her ankle twinges when she puts weight on it, slowing her down. Despite this, Charlie continues as fast as she can, running through the trees. She continues in a straight line before stopping behind a tree to catch her breath. Her face screws up into a grimace and she lifts her leg off the ground.

Stopping, that was her mistake. You never stop. Glancing around the large tree trunk. Charlie sees three men walking towards her, looking in all directions before the middle one points for his companions to split up.

Charlie ducks behind her tree again when the middle man starts towards her. She could make a run for it but he'd definitely see her, call his buddies back to him. They have guns, some of them, at least. Or she can...Charlie looks down at her gun and her stomach churns.

Another deep breath in through her nose, Charlie holds it and backs further against the tree. She waits and listens. Turning her head to watch the man headed in her direction pass by her without noticing she's there.  
Clenching her teeth, the teenager raises her gun and cocks it. The sound makes the man on the other end of the barrel freeze. "Drop it," Charlie whispers as hard as she can, gaze carefully watching the man turn to face her, gun still held next to him loosely. "I said, drop it."

"And if I don't?" He asks with the audacity to not even look worried.

"Thought that was pretty clear. I'll shoot you." The man barks out a laugh and if Charlie wasn't freaking out, she would've rolled her eyes.

"That's funny. Just put the gun down, girly."

"No," Did he really think she would just drop her weapon? She's not that stupid.

Sighing loudly, the man looks off to the side before nodding. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"I'm a teenager, I live to make adults lives harder," Charlie doesn't even know why she's saying these things. The words are just spilling out of her mouth without her consent. Probably caused by the same nerves that are making her hands shake.

"Suit yourself," Charlie's faster than last time. When the man lifts his gun to her, she squeezes the trigger. Her breath catches, her feet frozen to the ground. The man, now on the ground, groans in pain, clutching his shoulder. Charlie's a good shot, she's not sure if she missed because of the fear coursing through her or because she wanted to.

Charlie snaps back to herself when the man yells. She looks behind her before moving to take the gun he'd dropped. "You stupid bitch!" He spits and turns on his side, climbing to his feet.

Moving away from him, Charlie's eyes scan the trees, and for the second time that day, she runs.

"Get your asses over here!" The man's voice reaches her ears, making her heart skip a beat. She should've just shot him in the head, been done with it. Now he'll tell his buddies which way she went.

The forest in front of her is vast. Leaves crunch under her boots when her feet hit the ground. She can feel her rapid heart rate beating in her chest, she can feel it in her temples. Her lungs ache as she gasps for air. But she keeps going.

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**Charlie just can't catch a break, can she? **

**I'm just not good at writing bad guys lol. **

**More chapters out soon! I'm super excited for what's to come! **

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! I love reading what you guys think of this story!**

**Until next time, friends!**

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	23. Hunted

**I**** know I said I would be posting a lot, and I do have the chapters, I just got lazy. I'm lazy...sorry**

**But thanks for sticking around! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Words: 1,608**

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There's a breeze in the air, lightly ruffling the leaves on the trees and the ground, whistling as it goes. Charlie's hair tickles her face but she pays it no mind, instead, she focuses on her breathing.

Her back rests against yet another deserted car on the side of the road, trees surrounding her. So many trees. Charlie used to love the forest.

Is this how deers and rabbits feel? When they know they're being hunted. If so, she'll never hunt again. She'll become a vegetarian. She can do that, how hard can it be? She loves fruits and vegetables. And old, stale bags of food and unlabeled cans. Yeah, she can do that.

Groaning in exhaustion and pain, Charlie pulls herself to her feet and crosses the road, running into the woods once again. She might not like it, but it's better than the open road.

The sun is setting, darkness will come soon. She fears what will follow it.

Those men are still chasing her, she just knows it. The way the hairs on her neck and arms rise to their ends. She can't stop. Stopping means death. Her ankle doesn't hurt much anymore but her legs ache and they feel like lead.

When she can't run anymore, Charlie walks, dragging her feet behind her. When she hits asphalt again, the teenager sigh, her gaze landing on an old service station. She looks behind her, eyes scanning the forest and she pulls out one of her two guns. The one she stole from the guy she shot is in her bag.

Head swiveling around, Charlie marches with purpose towards the building, gun raised. The doors are open, spilling what little daylight is left into the small space. It doesn't take long to search, only one walker trapped in the back room. Charlie checks the lock on the door, deciding to leave it be when she's satisfied that it can't escape.

Getting her light from her bag, she turns it on and holds it in her mouth while blocking the door best she can. It won't keep a person out but any walkers should move by. Nodding at her work, Charlie then goes around the counter and climbs under it, her bag resting in her lap. She leans her head back and lets her eyes fall shut.

When she wakes, it's still dark. Charlie sighs, trying to ignore the walker make as it bangs against the door softly. She reaches for her necklace only for her heart to drop. Eyes snapping to her neck, Charlie shines her light and feels around for the silver chain but doesn't find it.

"Shit," She whispers and looks around the floor even if she knows it's not there. No telling where it is now. Somewhere over the miles of forest floor that she's walked. On one of the many roads, she's crossed.

The teenager dozes off again but is awoken by a noise. Voices. Familiar ones. Tensing, Charlie pulls her gun to her but doesn't move. They're coming inside. Scrunching her nose, Charlie curses to herself. Do these guys not have anything better to do than look for her? Well, it is the apocalypse, no more nine to five jobs so no, they probably don't.

If she gets the chance again, she'll kill them. Charlie keeps telling herself this over and over again. It makes her feel sick but her choices are limited. Go on being hunted, let herself get killed or worse. Or end this. End them.

"Hey!" One of them shouts and Charlie jumps. She squeezes her eyes and mouth shut tightly. "Come out, girly, we know you're in here!"

"Actually we don't," She hears another one of the men say, much more quietly before a noise that sounds like someone getting smacked upside the head reaches the teen's ears.

"Shut up, man. The hell is wrong with you?" The information that they don't, a hundred percent know that she's there doesn't make her feel that much better. It won't be hard to find her if they just look.

"We're wasting time and shit, man, why are we still looking?"

"Because the bitch shot Robby," The first guys says, sounding much angrier than the other one. "We can't let her get away with that."

"Man, she could be anywhere by now," Or twenty feet away from you. "We should just go. It's not like Rob is dead."

"Now you're being the bitch. Man up and search the damn building." Footsteps echo around her. Charlie forces her eyes open and she tightens her grip on her gun. She swears they can hear her breathing it's so loud. The walker banging on the door intensifies, the sound of their voices riling it up.

"What do we have here?" The first guy says to himself. Charlie can hear him much better now, his voice almost directly above her. Her heart speeds up. They're not going to give up, she heard him say it herself. There's only one option if she wants to make it out of here alive.

Charlie all but jumps out of her skin when the man suddenly jumps over the counter. Her heart is in her throat but he hasn't seen her yet. The knowledge barely helps. She thinks it would've been better if he did see her. She wouldn't have had to think about it. Now she has to think about it.

While he's distracted by pushes back on the storage room door, Charlie lifts her gun, aiming it at the back of his head. She knows there's at least one other person here, she can hear him on the other side of the shop. She must assume that he has a gun and that there might be more people waiting outside.

Tears are already feeling her eyes, nausea rolling through her. Charlie chokes but before the man can turn, she pulls the trigger.

Her joints pop when she jumps to her feet faster than she ever has before. Her bag and gun gripped tightly in her hand. She rushes towards the door, hearing the man she left alive calling out. She doesn't stop.

The trees greet her when she enters the forest. The wind blows their leaves like a wave. It feels like they're taunting her.

Her feet pound down onto the dirt, arms pumping at her sides. Charlie glances over her shoulder and she keeps going.

* * *

Appetite gone, Charlie forgoes eating but she makes herself drink. No point in going through the trouble of living only to let yourself die of dehydration. And yes, one does need to eat. But it's a waste if you know you'll only throw it up moments after it enters your stomach.

The day passes and the only company that stumbles upon her are the undead. It's sickening, but every time she sinks her knife into each of their rotten skulls, she feels better. She thought it would make her feel worse but somehow, it doesn't.

She comes across a group of houses and almost doesn't stop. Every time she does, they catch up to her. And she's killed one of their own now, if that's not a reason to hold a grudge, she doesn't know what is.

But the lack of food and the constant running catches up to her. If she doesn't sit down, she'll fall down.

She doesn't go in blind this time. She picks the best house for a quick escape and locks the entire house up best she can. Then barricades  
herself into a room. She looks at the bed then the closet.

Grabbing a pillow and blanket, Charlie spread them onto the floor in the tiny room before entering, closing the door behind her.

Despite the exhaustion that courses through her entire being, Charlie doesn't sleep. Her eyes don't close but it almost feels as if they are, the darkness around her snuffing out all light. Her knuckles turn white as she grips her gun, holding it to her chest.

She needs a plan, she can't keep going like this. But it's when she decides to map one out that Charlie realizes that she doesn't know what she's doing. She has no idea where she is. It had been about finding the others, that's all it had been about but then those men came and it was about getting away from them, not dying. It can't just be that. She can't just live every second of every day for the rest of her life running from people. Glancing over her shoulder with the fear that any second, she could die a painful death.

But what else is there? She doesn't even know if she believes that her family is still alive anymore. Maybe some of them made it out but who's to say they haven't been picked off? By human or monster. Those two things are one and the same these days.

A sob breaks loose, the sound surprises Charlie herself. But she doesn't try to stop it, only covers her mouth and rocks back and forth. She lets herself cry, lets the hopelessness she feels consume her. What else can she do? She's lost everything. And no amount of hoping is going to bring it back.

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**Poor Charlie, all by herself making the tough decisions. **

**Thanks for reading! Again, I'm sorry for making you guys wait. I would love to know what you thought of this chapter. Reviews are the only thinks keeping me going these days. **

**I hope you guys are healthy and safe! Until next time, friends!**

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	24. The Graves We Dig

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm just glad to know people are still reading and enjoy this enough to leave a few kind words. I love knowing what you guys think of the chapters when I post them!**

**WARNINGS for this chapter will be posted at the bottom notes if you want to go read those first. I don't want to spoil it if you don't want to know. **

**This chapter has some tough subjects. Warnings are listed at the bottom if you'd like to scroll and read those real quick before reading this chapter.**

**Words: 1,300**

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It's been days and Charlie hasn't seen another person. After the night in that house, she'd cried herself to sleep many times after that but then she just stopped. It's as if she's run out of tears.

It took a while to pull herself off that closet floor but then it occurred to her. If she's lost everything, then she has nothing left to lose. Not very motivational, but it got her up. It got her moving.

Which is where she is now. Backpack tightly wrapped around her, gun raised in front of her. The building is one of many in the small town. She moves swiftly and quietly through it, searching for anything.

There's been no sign of anyone. She doesn't even know what to look for. All she's seen for a long while is the dead. It's like everything living has disappeared, even the animals. Though she hasn't been able to bring herself to hunt just yet. She still hasn't decided if she ever will.

When she got into town, there were a few dead lying on the ground...dead. Double dead. She doesn't how for sure, but they looked like recent kills. Her guard had gone up instantly. It might've been safer to leave but she needs supplies.

So, here she is, searching through some kind of office building. There are many corners, many rooms, offices. Charlie isn't there will be much but there's no good reason to pass up the possibility to find something she needs.

The carpeted floor makes her footsteps soundless. That's good and bad because if someone else were to be walking around she won't be able to hear them.

And that's exactly what happens.

Charlie doesn't hear him until he's right on her. Her heart jumps in motion with her, her finger moving onto the trigger of her gun. "Drop it," She orders when she sees the gun in his hands. The man, red eyes wide, nods and lowers the gun to the ground slowly. "Back away."

"Please," He says, his shaky voice catching Charlie by surprise but she keeps her weapon pointed at him. "It's my boy." He motions towards the room he'd just exited. Charlie, against her better judgment, looks that way before her eyes find his again. "Please."

Eyebrows furrowed, Charlie motions for him to show her, carefully retrieving his gun from the floor with one hand, the other still holding her own. She thinks he might be lying, this could be a trap of some sort, but when she sees the small child, no more than eight-years-old, lying on the old, beat-up couch, she knows it's not.

For the first time in days, she feels her heart fall. She'd thought it'd done that so many times it couldn't anymore. She was wrong.

"Hey, bud," The man whispers to the child while kneeling next to him on the floor, his voice breaking as he brushes the hair from his sweaty forehead. "You're okay, I'm here." Turning to look over his shoulder to her, the man swallows and nods. "I know what it means," Charlie only then notices the bite mark on the boy's skinny shoulder. He's sweating, barely conscious. It must've happened a little while ago. "But I can't. And I know I have no right to ask..."

Taking a deep breath, Charlie looks the man in the eyes before nodding. The poor boy is suffering and she can help. She can make his pain go away. "Do you want to wait outside?"

"No," The man shakes his head and sniffs, rubbing the tears off his cheeks. "No, I'll stay."

"Okay," Sighing, Charlie holsters her gun. The man looks two taps away from falling apart, she's not worried about him right now. "Hey, sweetie," She says to the boy, kneeling by his head. She's not even sure he can hear her, the words just escape her mouth and she doesn't try to stop them. "What's his name?" She asks his father, turning to look at him.

"Michael." He answers without looking away from his son's face. Charlie feels as if someones punched her in the gut, knocking the air from her lungs.

Pushing it aside, Charlie looks back at the boy, brushing his light brown hair away from his eyes much like his father had. He even looks like him, she thinks before shaking her head. "It's not the same." She mutters under her breath to herself. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," The father nods brokenly and squeezes his son's hand. "Please. Just make it quick."

"Okay," Shifting forward, Charlie continues to pet Micheal's hair. "You're gonna be okay," She doesn't know why she says it, they all know it isn't true. Maybe just as a comfort for him or to make herself feel better. "You're okay."

Charlie feels her eyes heat up when tears flood them. Apparently, she hadn't run out of them. Unsheathing her knife, Charlie lifts her hand slowly, stretching it to rest on the other side of the couch next to his head. She doesn't realize that she's started humming until after the fact.

Carefully with her free hand, Charlie lifts the boy's head off the cushions and slips the knife under him. Teeth clenching, a tear spilling down her face, Charlie hesitates before pushing it into the soft tissue at the base of his skull.

The most broken sound escapes the boy's father and he leans over his son's body, crying into him. Charlie steps back, bloody knife held tightly in her hand.

"Thank you," The man whispers after a moment, a shuddering breath forcing its way into his lungs. He refuses to meet her eyes.

"Do you wan-" Charlie cuts herself off and clears her throat. "Do you want to bury him?" He doesn't respond for a moment but he does nod eventually. Charlie finds a blanket and covers the boy's body. His father insists on carrying him, she doesn't object.

Shovels aren't hard to find. The hardware store in town has a few lying around. The place they choose is on the edge of the forest, surrounded by trees but far enough that roots won't be a big issue. Charlie takes a break, keeping an eye on the man as he digs and she wraps a string around two sticks to create a cross.

Charlie's always thought the worst part is covering someone's body with dirt. She knows they're gone but it only confirms it when you put them under the earth.

Using the shovel, the teenager hammers the quickly made cross into the ground above the small grave. A grave too small. She looks up from it and towards the man, his shoulders are lax, eyes glued to the loose dirt in front of his feet.

Sighing, Charlie takes his gun into her hands and checks the clip before rubbing her forehead. She holds it out to him. "Take it," She says after a moment and he does, eyes blank. He stares down at the weapon and weighs it in his hands.

"Thank you," He says again, voice no longer breaking. It just sounds...empty. It sends shivers down Charlie's spine. "What you did...thank you." Charlie only nods and turns to pick up her bag. "Don't bother burying me."

"What?" Charlie spins around, her eyes widening. She barely has time to shout, "No!" Before the man places his gun to his head, and pulls the trigger.

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**WARNINGS: Suicide. Death of a child. **

**Man, Charlie just can't catch a break. That was tough, our girl is going through it right now. Will she be able to keep going? And if she does come through it, will she be the same?**

**Thanks for reading! All reviews are welcomed. **

**And yes, I'm aware that I'm super cringey. I beg of you to ignore it.**

**Until next time, friends!**

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	25. Train Tracks

**Thank you for reading and reviewing! **

**So last chapter was a lot for Charlie. Maybe she'll catch a break soon...or maybe she won't. Read to find out!**

**I don't know why I said that like an add or something. I don't understand myself. **

**Anyway, please enjoy! And thank you for reading!**

**Words: 1,941**

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The small flame sizzles out when a boot kicks dirt onto it, smoke rising through and into the air. Charlie hefts her bag onto her shoulders and walks away from her small camp, the morning sun shining through the trees highlights her path.

_Charlie's knees give out while the sound of a gunshot still echoes around her. A pained noise escapes her throat, eyes glued to the scene in front of her, frozen._

A twig snapping to her right has Charlie's head whipping in that direction. Three walkers make their way towards her.

_It feels li__ke hours before the teenager is able to pull herself to her feet. When she does, she grabs one of the discarded shovels._

Unsheathing her knife, Charlie marches towards the dead, her hand wrapping around the closest one's throat, holding it off long enough to shove the blade into its head. She steps back when it falls to the ground.

_The sound of metal hitting dirt sends an uncomfortable feeling down Charlie's spine. She shifts in her own skin but she doesn't stop._

The next walker goes down with a well-delivered kick to its fragile knee. Her knife sinks into its skull easily.

_She never even learned his name. She'd carved an M into Michael's cross but his will be blank. At least it's not completely unmarked. Charlie drags the father's body into the grave next to his sons and climbs out, retrieving her shovel._

The third walker groans and reaches out to her, Charlie watches in numbly, slowly backing away. It follows after her.

_It's much easier physically to fill a grave than dig one. It's much harder in other ways. Two more sticks are tied together, the sharp silver blade biting into the wood as letters are carved._

Dead eyes continue to follow Charlie. The teenager's feet carry her backwards over the forest floor, her eyes watching the snapping of the monster's jaws.

_She hadn't known what else to put. Leaving it empty feels wrong. Father is carved horizontally on the cross. Charlie adds Son to Michaels._

Huffing, Charlie moves forward and delivers a kick to the last walker's chest, watching as it falls, back hitting the ground heavily. She steps over it, looking down into its murky grey, dead eyes, and sinks her knife into one of them.

_Stepping back, Charlie looks between the two graves and wipes her face. Her gaze turns down to the gun in her hands. She throws it into her bag with the other one. She'd started with none, now she has three._

Wiping the blood from the blade onto the walker's clothes, Charlie stands and slips it back into its sheath. Without sending the dead another glance, she continues forward.

It's a while before the trees break. Charlie pushes her heavy legs up the hill and onto the train tracks. She looks both ways before choosing a direction.

There's no trail. Nothing. She doesn't know what to do anymore other than move. She's seen no sign of people since...she's not sure she wants to anyway. A breeze wafts past her, blowing the loose strands of hair over her face.

She doesn't stay in one place for more than a few hours. Just enough to rest when she can, eat, and drink. She wonders how long that'll last before something happens. Because something always happens.

Feet balance on the side of the tracks easily. Charlie doesn't even watch where she's going, she only looks in front of her. Her balance is good, she doesn't think she'll fall. Her gun dangles in her right hand by her side. The sound of bugs is nice. Sometimes she can't hear them.

Terminus, the sign reads. Sanctuary for all community for all. Those who arrive, survive.

"Some poet," Charlie says out loud. She's scared to not talk. Scared that she never will again, that her voice will disappear. So with no company, she talks to herself.

Sighing, the teenager looks behind her then back to the sign. She doesn't know if she believes it, it sounds too good to be true. There just aren't that many good people left in the world. The good people die, they always die. Being soft in this world is no better than a death sentence.

Heart of stone, Charlie remembers hearing that somewhere once. She can't remember exactly but it's recently come back to the forefront of her mind. The way the world is today, you have to be cold to make it.

With one last look at the sign, Charlie starts forward. She doesn't believe it, with every fiber of her being, she knows there's no sanctuary, not anymore. But if someone did make it out of the prison and they're still alive, they might've seen this sign. If they did, maybe they'd go there.

The smallest spark of hope ignites inside of Charlie's heart, chasing away the cold.

* * *

Before the sun sets, Charlie ventures into the forest. She digs a small hole for the wood she collects, using dead leaves to start a fire. Despite the hunger gnawing at her stomach, she skips out on eating the little food she has left, just drinking some water instead. It'll be better to eat in the morning. She leans back against a tree and reaches for her necklace only to sigh when she remembers it's no longer there.

The flames dance in her vision, casting a soft glow around her. She doesn't mean to fall asleep, but it happens anyway.

It doesn't take much to bring her back to consciousness, so a hand clapping over her mouth definitely does the trick. Charlie's eyes snap open, any noise muffled by the appendage blocking them. She reaches for her gun but her hand only grips empty air.

"Looking for this?" An airy, male voice asks while dangling a gun in front of her face. Her gun. "Ah-ah, not so fast." He takes it away when she reaches for it but it doesn't stay gone long. In the next second, Charlie feels the cold barrel of her own weapon pushed up against her head. "Now, I'm going move and you're going to stay quiet, understand." Charlie's nostrils flare and she winces when the man shoves the gun harder into her temple. "I asked you a question."

Nodding, Charlie rubs her jaw when he finally moves his hand. "Good, see, that's not so hard, now is it?" She almost snaps back with a sarcastic remark but the gun pointed at her makes her second guess that thought. "Good, good."

He's twitching. Charlie notices when he looks away from her to rifle through her bag. There's an off glint in his eyes. The look of a man whose mind has been lost to this world.

Shifting slowly, Charlie pulls her feet under herself. "No," The man's head snaps back to her and she freezes, eyes flickering from him to her gun. "Did I say you could move?" Shaking her head, Charlie leans back against the tree and he nods, satisfied before her looks back down.

He's going to kill her, she knows. She only wonders why he hasn't just done it yet.

Chewing her lip, the teenager looks around her. She can't run, he could easily shoot her down. So she needs to get the gun away from him. How? He's ten feet away with the damn thing pointed right at her? He's too far so she needs to get closer. But how does she do that when she can't move?

"Okay, okay, okay," The man mumbles to himself and stands, running a hand over his face and through his hair. When he starts towards her, Charlie realizes she doesn't have to move to get closer.

The gun isn't aimed at her anymore but his finger is still on the trigger. Charlie watches closely, waiting until the perfect moment. She reaches around with her right hand to grab his wrist and twists until her back hits his chest. Caught by surprise, the man squeezes the trigger, firing a bullet into the air.

Grunting, Charlie throws her elbow back into the man's face, scrambling towards her gun when he drops it. She falls onto the ground, reaching for the weapon only to get dragged away by a tight hold on her ankle.

Charlie yelps when her hair is pulled, turning her onto her back. She lifts her hands to defend herself but the man is faster. He's on top of her in seconds, his hands around her throat.

Gasping for air, eyes wide, Charlie grabs and hits his arms but his hold only tightens. Dark spots start to dance in the corners of her vision. Looking up at him, Charlie's arms suddenly shoot up and she digs her thumbs into the man's eyes. He screams and lets go of her.

Spinning back around, Charlie starts to crawl away from him and towards her gun again but right before her hand grips it, a searing pain in her thigh has her screaming out. She rolls onto her back and kicks out with her good leg, hitting the man in the face.

Breaths coming out in heavy pants, Charlie finally grasps her gun, still lying on the ground. She turns back to face the man just as he's lunging for her and she fires the gun. He falls to the ground, limp. Dead.

Gasping for air, Charlie lets her head fall back onto the ground, arms by her side. She looks up at the morning sun shining through the trees. The pain hits her again then and she groans while sitting up. She looks down at her leg, shaky hands hovering over the hilt of the knife embedded in her thigh.

"There's a knife in my leg," She whispers, her voice heard by no one but herself. The gunshots, it'll draw walkers from miles and she can't walk because there's a knife in her leg. "Okay, okay," Charlie pants and removes the shirt tied around her waist. She rips the sleeves and ties one above the wound, the other one around the knife but the cloth quickly becomes soaked in blood.

A pained cry escapes through her clenched teeth when she moves her leg. The tree beside her aids the teenager in her attempt to stand. "I've never been stabbed before," She speaks to herself, her right foot hovering over the ground. "Hurts just as much as I thought it would." Maybe she's bleeding more than she thought, her head does feel suddenly very light. Or heavy. Hard to tell.

"Just keep going," Charlie cries out when she puts weight on her leg but she catches herself before she can fall. "Keep going." Hopping towards her bag, Charlie bends down to pick it up. And when she falls this time, there's no tree close enough to help keep her upright.

Charlie groans and turns her head to the side. Her vision swims and she blinks heavily. Rustling gets her attention. Her eyes shift up and she sees feet. Feet and legs coming towards her. A walker. Maybe. She reaches for her gun, fingers weakly fumbling for the handle. But before she can grasp onto it, her world goes dark.

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**Oh, no, Charlies injured. What's gonna happen? Who do those legs belong to? The dead? A friend? An enemy? Hallucination due to blood loss. Or maybe someone from the group...Comment your thoughts and theories! I would love to read them!**

**Also, I'm horrible with fight scenes so I apologize.**

**Thanks for reading!**

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